| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(IRS Employer Identification No.) | |
| Elgin Avenue Grand Cayman, |
||
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) | |
| Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
one-half of one redeemable warrant |
||||
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | |||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||
| Auditor Firm ID: |
Auditor Name: |
Auditor Location: |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements contained in this report may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this report may include, for example, statements about:
| • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| • | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| • | our expectations and forecasts around the performance and trends of markets and industries; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our directors and officers allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | the ability of our directors and officers to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; |
| • | our financial performance following our initial public offering of units; |
| • | the impacts of recent SEC rule amendments as relate to SPACs and related enhanced disclosure requirements; and |
| • | the other risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this report and our other SEC filings. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this report 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.
Unless otherwise stated in this report or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| • | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; |
| • | “board of directors” or our “directors” are to our directors; |
| • | “Business Combination” are to the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement; |
| • | “Business Combination Agreement” are to the business combination agreement, dated as of April 25, 2023, entered into by the Company, OpSec Holdings, a Cayman Islands exempted company with limited liability (“Pubco”), Opal Merger Sub I, a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated with limited liability and wholly-owned subsidiary of Pubco (“Merger Sub I”), Opal Merger Sub II, a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated with limited liability and wholly-owned Subsidiary of |
1
Pubco (“Merger Sub II”), Orca Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated with limited liability (“OpSec”), Orca Midco Limited, a private limited company incorporated under the Laws of England and Wales (“Orca Midco”), Orca Bidco Limited, a private limited company incorporated under the Laws of England and Wales and a subsidiary of OpSec (“Orca”), Investcorp Technology Secondary Fund 2018, L.P., a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership (“ITSF”), and Mill Reef Capital Fund ScS, a limited partnership (société en commandite simple) organized under the laws of Luxembourg (“Mill Reef”, and together with ITSF, the “OpSec Shareholders”, as amended from time to time);
| • | “Companies Act” are to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
| • | “Extension Period” or “Extended Date” are to June 17, 2024, or such other date as determined in accordance with the terms of the Business Combination Agreement. |
| • | “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our IPO and our Class A ordinary shares that were issued upon the voluntary conversion of such shares on December 22, 2023 and effected on January 2, 2024 as described herein (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares are not “public shares”); |
| • | “initial shareholders” are to holders of our founder shares prior to our IPO (including certain of our directors and officers who have received 1,287,917 founder shares from our sponsor); on December 22, 2023 and effected on January 2, 2024, the initial shareholders voluntarily elected to convert an aggregate 8,624,999 Class B ordinary shares to Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis; |
| • | “Investcorp” are to Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.; |
| • | “Investcorp Group” are to Investcorp and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
| • | “IPO” refers to our initial public offering of units, which closed on December 17, 2021; |
| • | “letter agreement” refer to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as an exhibit to our IPO registration statement; |
| • | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers; |
| • | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
| • | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our IPO; |
| • | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares in the open market, provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares purchased in the open market; |
| • | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our IPO (whether purchased in our IPO or in the open market); |
| • | “public warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO (whether purchased in our IPO or in the open market); |
| • | “sponsor” are to Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and a consolidated subsidiary of Investcorp; and |
| • | “warrants” are to our public warrants and private placement warrants. |
PART I
References in this annual report to “we,” “us,” “Company” or our “company” are to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I, an exempted company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Item 1. Business
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on March 22, 2021 under the name Investcorp Asia Acquisition Corp I. On October 7, 2021, we changed our name to Investcorp Europe Acquisition Corp I. 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 or assets (a “business combination”). We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated
2
with emerging growth companies. We have reviewed a number of opportunities to enter into a business combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
Our executive offices are located at Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, P.O. Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102, and our telephone number is +1 (345) 949-5122. Our corporate website address is https://investcorp.prod-use1.investis.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this annual report. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
Company History
Our sponsor is Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “sponsor”). The registration statement for our IPO was declared effective on December 14, 2021. On December 17, 2021, we consummated our IPO of 34,500,000 units (including the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 units) (the “units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being offered, the “public shares”), at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $345.0 million and incurring offering costs of approximately $20.1 million, of which $12.075 million was for deferred underwriting commissions.
Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we consummated the private placement (“private placement”) of 16,700,000 warrants (“private placement warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant with our sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $16.7 million.
Upon the closing of our IPO and the private placement, $351.9 million ($10.20 per unit) of the net proceeds of our IPO and certain of the proceeds of the private placement were placed in a trust account (“trust account”), located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
On March 7, 2023, the Company entered into a non-interest bearing convertible unsecured loan (the “March 2023 Loan”) in the principal amount of up to $2,000,000 from one of the sponsor’s affiliates to provide the Company with additional working capital and to fund the initial Extension Contributions as defined and described below. The portion of the March 2023 Loan used to provide the Company with additional working capital was not deposited into the Company’s trust account. If the Company does not consummate an initial business combination by June 17, 2024 (the “Extension Period”), the March 2023 Loan will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. The March 2023 Loan is convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
On March 14, 2023, the Company convened an extraordinary general meeting (the “First Extraordinary General Meeting”) virtually, solely with respect to voting on the proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from March 17, 2023 to December 17, 2023 (the “First Extension Amendment Proposal”) and the proposal to remove the limitation that the Company shall not redeem public shares to the extent that such redemption would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (the “Redemption Limitation Amendment Proposal”, and together with the First Extension Limitation Proposal, the “First Extraordinary General Meeting Proposals”). In connection with the First Extraordinary General Meeting Proposals, holders of public shares were afforded the opportunity to require the Company to redeem their public shares for their pro rate share of the trust account. 15,494,333 out of 34,500,000 public shares were redeemed at a redemption price of approximately $10.43 per share, leaving 19,005,667 public shares remaining outstanding. Following this redemption, the balance in the trust account was approximately $198.2 million. In connection with the approval of the First Extension Amendment Proposal, the sponsor agreed, by making monthly advancements on the March 2023 Loan, to contribute (each such contribution, an “Extension Contribution”) into the trust account the lesser of (x) an aggregate of $350,000 or (y) $0.03 per share for each public share that was not redeemed at the First Extraordinary General Meeting for each monthly period (commencing on March 17, 2023 and ending on the 17th day of each subsequent month), or prior thereof, until the earlier of the completion of the business combination and the end of the Extension Period.
On April 25, 2023, the Company entered into the Business Combination Agreement. Capitalized terms used in this annual report but not otherwise defined herein have the meanings given to them in the Business Combination Agreement.
In connection with the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, (1) the OpSec Shareholders will contribute to Pubco all of the issued and outstanding OpSec Ordinary Shares in exchange for (a) Pubco Ordinary Shares and (b) an aggregate amount in cash equal to $10,000,000, (2) following the Share Contribution, OpSec will merge with and into Merger Sub I, as a result of which the separate corporate existence of OpSec shall cease and Merger Sub I
3
shall continue as the surviving company, and (3) following the First Merger, the Company will merge with and into Merger Sub II, as a result of which (a) the separate corporate existence of Merger Sub II shall cease and the Company shall continue as the surviving company, (b) the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares immediately prior to the effective time of the Second Merger shall be exchanged for Pubco Ordinary Shares concurrently with the Second Merger, (c) the issued and outstanding Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the Second Merger Effective Time shall be transferred to Pubco in exchange for Pubco Ordinary Shares and (d) the warrants of the Company outstanding immediately prior to the Second Merger Effective Time shall cease to represent a right to acquire the number of Class A ordinary shares set forth in such warrant and will instead be assumed by Pubco and automatically converted into Pubco Warrants to acquire an equal number of Pubco Ordinary Shares.
Following consummation of the transactions, the Company will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pubco, and OpSec will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pubco. OpSec will hold approximately 97% of the issued and outstanding equity of its underlying operating subsidiaries. Closing of the Business Combination is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the filing of a registration statement registering the Pubco Ordinary Shares issuable in the Business Combination and a vote of the majority of the Company’s outstanding Class A ordinary shares in favor thereof.
In April 2023, the Company entered into two agreements with each of its underwriters, each to act as a capital markets advisor and as a placement agent in relation to the Business Combination. On June 9, 2023, the Company terminated its two engagement letters with Credit Suisse. The terms of such engagement letters provided the Company with the right to terminate Credit Suisse’s engagement if certain key members of the Credit Suisse team ceased to remain actively involved in their capacities at Credit Suisse, and no fees would be due under the engagement letters, despite the fact that Credit Suisse already completed its services in connection with the Company’s IPO, and therefore such fee waiver was gratuitous in nature. On June 9, 2023, Credit Suisse’s contractual right to the deferred underwriting fee from the Company’s IPO was waived pursuant to the termination provisions in each of the financial and equity capital markets advisor engagement letters. Credit Suisse agreed to the waiver in connection with entering into the engagement letters.
The indemnification and contribution obligations of the Company to Credit Suisse with respect to the Business Combination as set forth in the underwriting agreement dated December 14, 2021, by and between the Company, Citi and Credit Suisse, and as set forth in or incorporated into the engagement letters with Credit Suisse, as applicable, expressly survived the termination of the engagement letters with Credit Suisse.
In addition, on July 6, 2023, November 15, 2023 and November 27, 2023, the Company entered into non-interest bearing unsecured loans in the principal amount of up to $1,700,000 (the “July 2023 Loan”) and in the principal amount of up to $500,000 (the “November 2023 Loan”) and in the principal amount of up to $1,250,000 (the “Second November 2023 Loan” collectively, together with the March 2023 Loan, the July 2023 Loan and the November 2023 Loan, the “Loans”) with an affiliate of the sponsor to provide the Company with additional working capital and to fund monthly contributions into the trust account until the earlier of a completion of a business combination or June 17, 2024. The July 2023 Loan, the November 2023 Loan and the Second November 2023 Loan bear no interest and shall be due and payable on the earlier of (i) the date on which the Company consummates a business combination or (ii) the date of that the winding up of the Company is effective. If the Company does not consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date, the July 2023 Loan, the November 2023 Loan and the Second November 2023 Loan will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If at any time the board of directors determines that the Company will not be able to consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date and that the Company shall instead liquidate, the sponsor’s obligation to continue to make contributions shall cease immediately upon such determination.
On December 5, 2023, the Company convened an extraordinary general meeting (the “Second Extraordinary General Meeting”) virtually, solely with respect to voting on the proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from December 17, 2023 to June 17, 2024 (the “Second Extension Amendment Proposal”). In connection with the Second Extension Amendment Proposal, holders of public shares were afforded the opportunity to require the Company to redeem their public shares for their pro rate share of the trust account. 7,460,372 out of 19,005,667 public shares were redeemed at a redemption price of approximately $10.9972 per share, leaving 11,545,295 public shares remaining outstanding. Following this redemption, the balance in the trust account was approximately $127.0 million. In connection with the approval of the Second Extension Amendment Proposal, the sponsor agreed, by making monthly advancements on the Loans, to contribute into the trust account the lesser of (x) an aggregate of $150,000 or (y) $0.02 per share for each public share that was not redeemed at the Second Extraordinary General Meeting for each monthly period (commencing on December 17, 2023 and ending on the 17th day of each subsequent month), or prior thereof, until the earlier of the completion of the initial business combination and the end of the Extension Period.
4
On December 14, 2023, the Company entered into a first amendment to the Business Combination Agreement (the “First Amendment to the BCA”), which provided, among other things, that (1) holders of options granted by Orca (“Orca Options”) who are not executives of OpSec have the right to elect to cash out up to 10% of the Orca Options held by such holders; (2) the Orca Options granted to certain OpSec executives in February of 2023 were canceled and (3) following the consummation of the Business Combination, the board of directors of Pubco will consist of seven directors, three of whom shall be “independent directors” as defined under Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act with three individuals designated by OpSec, two individuals designated by the Company and two individuals appointed jointly by OpSec and the Company.
On December 22, 2023 and effected on January 2, 2024, the initial shareholders voluntarily elected to convert an aggregate 8,624,999 Class B ordinary shares to Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis in accordance with the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “conversion”). All of the terms and conditions applicable to the Class B ordinary shares set forth in the letter agreement continue to apply to the Class A ordinary shares into which the Class B ordinary shares converted, including the voting agreement, transfer restrictions and waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to the trust account or any monies or other assets held therein. Following the conversion, there were 20,170,294 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding (constituted by 11,545,295 Class A ordinary shares held by public shareholders and an aggregate 8,624,999 Class A ordinary shares held by the initial shareholders) and one Class B ordinary share issued and outstanding (held by the sponsor). A shareholder’s voting power consists of the combined voting power of the Class A ordinary shares and the Class B ordinary shares owned beneficially by such shareholder. Therefore, there has been no effect to the votes required to approve the proposals in connection with the approval of the Business Combination and related transactions or the counting of the votes at any meeting of the Company as a result of the conversion.
On March 10, 2024, the Company entered into a second amendment to the Business Combination Agreement (the “Second Amendment to the BCA”), which was entered into concurrently with a stock purchase agreement (the “Divestiture Agreement”) by Orca Midco and CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd. (the “Divestiture Buyer”), pursuant to which, among other things, Orca Midco will sell, and the Divestiture Buyer will purchase, all of the issued and outstanding equity securities of Orca Bidco (the “Divestiture”). Prior to the execution of the Divestiture Agreement, OpSec effected a reorganization of its subsidiaries pursuant to which all of the issued and outstanding equity securities of Orca Holding Denmark APS (“Orca Denmark”), the parent entity of Zacco A/S (“Zacco”), became directly owned by Orca Midco (the “Reorganization”). As a result of the Reorganization, the Divestiture will effect a sale to the Divestiture Buyer of only the OpSec business, which is conducted through Orca Bidco and its subsidiaries (the “Divested Companies”), with the Zacco business being retained by Orca Midco. The Company is currently evaluating whether it is in the best interests of its shareholders to continue to pursue the Business Combination after the consummation of the Divestiture, as the consummation of the Business Combination following the consummation of the Divestiture will result in the Company effecting a business combination with the Zacco business. In connection with the Divestiture Agreement and the Second Amendment to the BCA, the Company entered into a letter agreement, dated March 10, 2024 (the “Consent”), with Pubco, the OpSec Shareholders, and Crane NXT, Co., a Delaware corporation (“NXT”), pursuant to which the Company consented to, among other things, OpSec effecting the Reorganization and Orca Midco entering into the Divestiture Agreement and consummating the Divestiture. Pursuant to the Consent, the Company also releases, relinquishes and discharges any and all existing or potential claims, causes of action and damages (i) against NXT and its affiliates solely in respect of matters relating to the Divestiture arising or occurring prior to the execution of the Divestiture Agreement, and (ii) if the Divestiture is consummated, against the Divested Companies, solely in respect of matters related to the Reorganization, the Divestiture, the Letter Agreement (as defined in the Consent) and the Business Combination Agreement.
In connection with the Reorganization and the Divestiture, the Second Amendment to the BCA provides for, among other things, (i) that the net proceeds from the Divestiture be deposited in a third-party escrow account and the terms by which such proceeds may be released, (ii) a transition services agreement, (iii) a fairness opinion and (iv) the conversion of Class B ordinary shares, which was elected on December 22, 2023 and effected on January 2, 2024 (as described above).
As of April 8, 2024, the Loans amounted to a total principal amount of $5,450,000, and the Company has made thirteen Extension Contribution payments to the trust account, nine each in the amount of $350,000 and four each in the amount of $150,000, under the Loans as described above. In addition, as of April 8, 2024, a total of approximately $129.7 million was held in the trust account.
Business Combination Criteria
We seek to identify companies that we believe have significant growth potential and a combination of the following characteristics. We use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We expect that no individual criteria will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular target.
| • | size and equity value of the target above $1.0 billion up to $2.0 billion; |
5
| • | scalable business model with strong unit economics; |
| • | compatibility with high corporate responsibility standards for sustainable and environmentally and socially responsible investments; |
| • | leadership in businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology and proven track record; |
| • | brand recognition and potential; |
| • | size, secular growth rate, and strategic fundamentals of the target; |
| • | competitive dynamics, including barriers to entry, future competitive threats and the target business’ competitive position; |
| • | product positioning and life cycle; |
| • | development of detailed projections, quantification of sensitivity of drivers of growth and profit enhancement; |
| • | attractiveness of the target business’ cash flow generation capability and return on capital employed; |
| • | readiness to become a listed company and enter the public markets; |
| • | quality and depth of the management team as it relates to current operations, as well as the envisioned operations in the future; |
| • | proprietary aspects of products and the extent of intellectual property or other protection for products or formulas; |
| • | costs and time associated with effecting the business combination; and |
| • | market leadership, sustainability of market share and attractiveness of market sectors, in which the target business operates within businesses focusing on business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that does not meet some or all of the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC.
Our Business Combination Process
We have the Extension Period to consummate an initial business combination. In evaluating a prospective target business, we conduct a thorough due diligence review that encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as reviewing financial and other information which will be made available to us. We also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience. Our acquisition criteria, due diligence processes and value creation methods 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. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this report, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials that we would file with the SEC. Our search for a business combination, 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 by factors beyond our control.
The rules of Nasdaq and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts and commissions 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 (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or a valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it likely that our board of directors will 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 the target’s assets or prospects. The Company retained Duff & Phelps to provide an opinion with respect to whether the exchange ratio provided for in the Second Merger pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, after giving effect to the Business Combination, was fair from a financial point of view to the public shareholders.
6
Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq’s rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. If we intend to close any business combination with a company with headquarters or significant operations in a country with secrecy laws that limit foreign access to business books and records and/or audit work papers or where the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) cannot freely inspect auditors, we must obtain Nasdaq’s approval prior to closing.
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. 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. 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 securities 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 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, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
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. If we ultimately do not complete a specific initial business combination, any such costs incurred will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Investcorp Group, 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 during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor, officers, and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
Other Acquisition Considerations
Notwithstanding the past performance of our management team or Investcorp Group, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or we will be successful with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of management’s, Investcorp Group’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
7
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, or our board of directors 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, another independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions for the type of company we are seeking to acquire 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 business judgment of our board of directors, which will have significant discretion in choosing the standard used to establish the fair market value of the target or targets, and different methods of valuation may vary greatly in outcome from one another. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Members of our management team and our independent directors own, directly or indirectly, founder shares and/or private placement warrants 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. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 and $0.12 per share, respectively, and we sold units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our IPO; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors 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. 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.
Each of our directors and officers presently has, and in the future may further have, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including Investcorp and its affiliates pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present acquisition opportunities to such entity. Accordingly, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an acquisition opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will need to honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such acquisition opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to identify targets for our initial business combination. Also, while Investcorp and its affiliates will not have any duty to offer acquisition opportunities to us, Investcorp or its affiliates may become aware of a potential transaction that is not a fit for Investcorp or its affiliates but that is an attractive opportunity for us, which they may decide to share with us. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. Moreover, certain of our officers and directors may have time and attention requirements for Investcorp or its affiliates; and, in addition, the compensation arrangements between such individuals and Investcorp or its affiliates (e.g., potential for such individuals to receive bonuses or payments of “carried interest” based on performance or investment results) may result in certain of such individuals prioritizing the interests of Investcorp or its affiliates over our interests. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, Investcorp and its affiliates, including our officers and directors who are affiliated with Investcorp Group, may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Currently, the equity interests in our sponsor are owned by Investcorp Group. Investcorp Group may transfer the equity interests in our sponsor to one or more investment funds or accounts managed by Investcorp Group for such consideration as Investcorp Group deems appropriate. Shareholders will not have the right to approve or receive notice of any such transfer.
An investment in us is not an investment in Investcorp Group or any fund managed by Investcorp Group. The past performance of Investcorp Group, funds managed by Investcorp Group, our management team or their respective affiliates, is not a guarantee of success with respect to a business combination that may be completed or the ability to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of Investcorp Group, management or their respective affiliates as indicative of the company’s future performance. See “Item 1a. Risk Factors—Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.”
8
We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their capital stock, shares or other equity securities in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. We believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses, market and other uncertainties in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds makes us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company for each fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues are less than $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Financial Position
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 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. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination, shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. 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.
9
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 or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing of the initial business combination 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 addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness 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. None of our sponsors, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
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 subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
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 our ordinary shares then outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| • | Any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest earned on the trust account (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| • | The issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. 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. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make 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.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, 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. 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.
10
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. 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 Class A ordinary shares or public warrants 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, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. 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.
As of the date of report, no agreements with respect to the private purchase of public shares by the persons described above have been entered into with any such investor or holder. In the event of any such newly purchased shares (i) the sponsor or its affiliates will purchase public shares at a price no higher than the price offered through the redemption process; (ii) any such purchases by sponsor or its affiliates will not be voted in favor of approving the business combination; and (iii) the sponsor and its affiliates have waived their redemption rights to such shares. Prior to the extraordinary general meeting to approve the Business Combination, the Company will disclose in a Form 8-K (i) the amount of public shares purchased outside of the redemption offer by the sponsor or its affiliates, along with the purchase price; (ii) the purpose of the purchases by the sponsor or its affiliates; (iii) the impact, if any, of the purchases by the sponsor or its affiliates on the likelihood that the Business Combination will be approved; (iv) the identities of shareholders who sold to the sponsor or its affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of shareholders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to the sponsor or its affiliates; and (v) the number of public shares for which the Company has received redemption requests pursuant to its redemption offer.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
Our public shareholders may redeem all or a portion of their Class A 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 the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. As of April 8, 2024, a total of approximately $129.7 million was held in the trust account, or $11.23 per share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we paid to the underwriters at the closing of our IPO. 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 their founder shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary 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 exceeds the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
11
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
Our public shareholders may redeem all or a portion of their Class A 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) without a shareholder vote 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 or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company 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 require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.
If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a shareholder meeting, 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 the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of a majority of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares purchased during or after the IPO (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We expect that at the time of any shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination that our initial shareholders will own at least 42.8% of our outstanding shares of common stock entitled to vote thereon. However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
12
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will:
| • | 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. |
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 the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. 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.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemption pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
We will require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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. 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 or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination if We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our 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 our IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our IPO, 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 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 shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
13
Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights
As described above, we will require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. 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 process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the broker submitting or tendering shares a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to submit or 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.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. 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 within the Extension Period.
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 until the Extension Period to complete our initial business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the Extension 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 (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public 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 in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period.
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 the Extension Period. However, if our sponsor or management team acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated 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 the Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating
14
to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
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 proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $11.23 based on the funds available in the trust account as of April 8, 2024. 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 $11.23. 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, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public 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 consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. 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. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our IPO will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. 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. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, 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 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 our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO 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 we 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 or directors 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 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, in each case less taxes payable, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance 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. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.20 per share.
15
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, 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 monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. 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.
If we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency 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, 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 insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency 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 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, and 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 (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) 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 the Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. 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 the 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 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 with a shareholder vote.
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
The Business Combination Article of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a special resolution must be approved by either (i) the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company 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 provide that special resolutions must be approved either by the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 42.8% of the sum of our ordinary shares, will 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 do not complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public |
16
| 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 in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law; |
| • | Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination; |
| • | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion and they may not be able to rely upon such opinion; |
| • | 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 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; |
| • | We must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
| • | If our shareholders approve an amendment to 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 the Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A 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 taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein; and |
| • | We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
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. 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 provide otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our 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.
Conflicts of Interest
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 improperly 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. |
17
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 of that director.
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.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity (including other special purpose acquisition companies) pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | Our 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 officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
| • | Our initial shareholders purchased founder shares prior to our IPO and purchased private placement warrants in a transaction that closed simultaneously with the closing of our IPO. 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 their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange 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. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) are not transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our officers and directors own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| • | Our 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. In addition, Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. |
18
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Investcorp Group, our sponsor, officers, or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Our shareholders may not be provided with a copy of such opinion and they may not be able to rely upon such opinion. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, be paid by the company any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently utilize office space at Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102 from our sponsor and the members of our management team as our executive offices. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We may plan to have full time employees other than the executive officers prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants have been registered under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements must be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, 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. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any target business to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on March 22, 2021. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly 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 government of the Cayman Islands that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision) of the Cayman
19
Islands, for a period of 30 years from April 6, 2021, no law which is thereafter enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will 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 will 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 any relevant payment as defined in the Tax Concessions Act (2018 Revision).
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 our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company for each fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues are less than $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such, and we and the members of our management team have not been subject to any such proceeding in the 12 months preceding the date of this report.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Summary Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this report before making a decision to purchase our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. These risks are more fully described in the section titled “Risk Factors” immediately following this risk factors summary. These risks include, among others, the following:
| • | We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Your only opportunity to effect 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. |
| • | Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets. |
20
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
| • | 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. |
| • | 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. |
| • | 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. |
| • | The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
| • | Affiliates of our sponsor have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we may not be presented investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us. |
| • | If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us. |
| • | Corporate governance standards in non-US countries may not be as strict or developed as in the United States and such weakness may hide issues and operational practices that are detrimental to a target business. |
21
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Ability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we did not commence operations until obtaining funding through the IPO. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Your only opportunity to effect 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.
At the time of the public shareholders’ investment in us, such shareholders were not provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. The only opportunity for such shareholders to effect an investment decision regarding our initial business combination is to exercise 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.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, or other national, regional or international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the geopolitical conditions and the status of debt and equity markets, as well as protectionist legislation in our target markets.
United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the escalation of geopolitical tensions and the recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022. In response to such invasion, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine during the ongoing military conflict, increasing geopolitical tensions with Russia. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. The ongoing military conflict in Ukraine is highly unpredictable and has led to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions. Additionally, Russian military actions and the resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.
Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, could adversely affect our ability to consummate our business combination and could result in a material adverse impact to the operations of the target business with which we seek to ultimately consummate a business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders own 42.8% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination (other than a statutory merger or consolidation with another company), such initial business combination will be approved if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding
22
a majority of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, including the founder shares. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need 1,460,148, or 7.2% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted) of the public shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted). Assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted, our initial business combination may be approved without the vote of any of the public shareholders. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such 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.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. 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 accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than such amount necessary to satisfy a condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public 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.
We are unable to predict how many public shareholders will exercise their redemption rights prior to the consummation of our business combination. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are 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. In addition, the amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public 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 your exercise of redemption rights 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 Extension Period may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our 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 the Extension Period. 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.
23
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period, 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 only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public 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 in all cases subject to the other requirements of applicable law, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.20 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. 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. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. Such purchases may include a contractual acknowledgment 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 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. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to satisfy
24
a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain 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 initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, 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 submit public shares for redemption. For example, we will require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we will require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders are entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein, (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 (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 the Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the Extension Period, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, 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, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are listed on Nasdaq. 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. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholder’s equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). 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 and our shareholders equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
25
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 Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A 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, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are currently listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants qualify as covered securities under the statute. 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 blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Since only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to our initial business combination, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements that would otherwise provide protection to shareholders of other companies.
Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the election of directors. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq’s corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the election of directors is held by an individual, a group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| • | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under Nasdaq rules; |
| • | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| • | we have independent director oversight of our director nominations. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq’s corporate governance requirements.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and accordingly 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO without our prior consent, 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 initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
26
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 do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours 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 our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Affiliates of our sponsor have similar or overlapping investment objectives and guidelines, and we may not be presented investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us.
Affiliates of our sponsor currently invest and plan to continue to invest in, incubate, and grow successful businesses in sectors such as business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology. There may be overlap of investment opportunities with affiliates of our sponsor that are actively investing and similar overlap with future affiliates. This overlap could create conflicts of interest. In particular, investment opportunities that may otherwise be suitable for us may not be presented to us by our sponsor. This overlap could also create conflicts in determining to which entity a particular investment 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.
Certain members of our management team may be involved in and have a greater financial interest in the performance of other entities affiliated with our sponsor, and such activities may create conflicts of interest in making decisions on our behalf.
Certain members of our management team may be subject to a variety of conflicts of interest relating to their responsibilities to our sponsor and its other affiliates. Such individuals may serve as members of management or a board of directors (or in similar such capacity) to various other affiliated entities. Such positions may create a conflict between the advice and investment opportunities provided to such entities and the responsibilities owed to us. The other entities in which such individuals may become involved may have investment objectives that overlap with ours. Furthermore, certain of our principals and employees may have a greater financial interest in the performance of such other affiliated entities than our performance. Such involvement may create conflicts of interest in sourcing investment opportunities on our behalf and on behalf of such other entities. See “Item 1. Business –Conflict of Interest.”
If the net proceeds of our IPO, the sale of the private placement warrants and the proceeds from the Loan not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until the Extension Period, 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 additional loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for the Extension Period, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital and potential loans from certain of our affiliates are discussed in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time.
27
Only a portion of the Loan will be used for working capital purposes, and we will need to seek additional financing for the remaining Contributions. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate through the Extension Period; 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 or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement 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 required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow additional 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.. 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. If we do not 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 an estimated $10.20 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Because our trust account is expected to contain approximately $11.23 per Class A ordinary share at the time of our initial business combination, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination.
Our trust account currently contains $11.23 per Class A ordinary share. As a result of the additional funds receivable by public shareholders upon redemption of public shares, our public shareholders may be more incentivized to redeem their public shares.
Subsequent to our 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 due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present within 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 debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. 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 proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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 and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be
28
prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. Marcum LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our IPO will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
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 do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.20 per public share held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, 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 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 our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO 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 we 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 or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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 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, in each case less taxes payable, 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 and subject to their fiduciary duties 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 may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, 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.
29
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency 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 some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, 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 or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our 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 or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency 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.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and such changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
On January 24, 2024, the SEC issued final rules (the “Final Rules”), effective as of 125 days following the publication of the Final Rules in the Federal Register, that formally adopted some of the SEC’s proposed rules for SPACs that were released on March 30, 2022. The Final Rules, among other items, impose additional disclosure requirements in initial public offerings by SPACs and business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amend the financial statement requirements applicable to business combination transactions involving such companies; update and expand guidance regarding the general use of projections in SEC filings, as well as when projections are disclosed in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increase the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and could impact the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act. The Final Rules may materially adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete, and the costs associated with, our initial business combination, and results of operations.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC had proposed rules which would provide a safe harbor for SPACs satisfying certain criteria from the definition of “investment company” under Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act. To comply with the duration limitation of the proposed safe harbor, a SPAC would have a limited time period to announce and complete a de-SPAC transaction. Specifically, to comply with the safe harbor, the Final Rules would require a company to file a report on Form 8-K announcing that it has entered into an agreement with a target company for an initial business combination no later than 18 months after the effective date of its registration statement for its initial public offering (“IPO Registration Statement”). The company would then be required to complete its initial business combination no later than 24 months after the effective date of the IPO Registration Statement.
30
In adopting the Final Rules, the SEC did not adopt the proposed safe harbor but did provide guidance on activities that may raise concerns as to investment company status:
| • | Nature of SPAC assets and income. For instance, a SPAC that owns or proposes to acquire 40% or more of its total assets in investment securities or a SPAC whose income is substantially derived from such assets would likely be considered an investment company. Holding U.S. government securities, U.S. registered money market funds and cash items, as is customary for SPACs during the period between the SPAC IPO and de-SPAC transaction, should not result in investment company status. |
| • | Management activities. Certain activities of the SPAC’s officers, directors and employees may be factors in the investment company determination, such as spending a considerable amount of time in managing the SPAC’s portfolio to achieve returns and not actively seeking a de-SPAC transaction. |
| • | Duration. While the SEC does not offer a bright line rule as to the duration of the SPAC, if a SPAC continues to operate without completing a de-SPAC transaction and its assets are substantially composed of, and its income derived from, securities, its activities may be more difficult to distinguish from those of an investment company. The SEC guidance indicated that the 12-month safe harbor for transient investment companies under Rule 3a-2 and the 18-month limit contemplated by Rule 419 were relevant analogies in analyzing the investment company status of a SPAC and that the further a SPAC operated beyond those timelines, the greater the investment company concerns would be, depending on the overall facts and circumstances. |
| • | Holding out. If the SPAC holds itself out as primarily engaged in investing, reinvesting or trading in securities, it will likely be considered an investment company. |
| • | Merging with an investment company. If the target company in a de-SPAC transaction is an investment company, the SPAC is likely to be considered an investment company. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing guidance, there remains uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to SPACs, including a company like ours, that has not completed its initial business combination within 24 months from the effective date of its IPO Registration Statement. It is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning stock in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our stock and warrants following such a transaction, and our warrants would expire worthless.
Prior to December 14, 2023, funds in the trust account were held only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. However, to mitigate the risk of the Company being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act), prior to the 24-month anniversary of the effective date of the registration statement relating to the Company’s initial public offering, the Company instructed Continental to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the trust account and to hold all funds in the trust account in cash in an interest bearing account until the earlier of consummation of our initial business combination or liquidation. In connection with such instructions, on December 14, 2023, the Company and Continental entered into an amendment (the “Trust Agreement Amendment”) to the Investment Management Trust Agreement dated December 11, 2021, which governs the investment of monies held in the trust account, to specifically allow the investment of those funds into an interest bearing account.
If we do not consummate our initial business combination within the Extension Period, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such to Extension Period before redemption from our trust account.
If we do not consummate our initial business combination within the Extension Period, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (less taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind-up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Act. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond the Extension Period before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata
31
portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless we consummate our initial business combination prior thereto and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination.
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 was 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 or if the distribution was found to have been made in a manner that was not in compliance with our memorandum and articles of association or otherwise was not in compliance with Cayman Islands law. 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 and/or may have 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 to a fine of approximately $18,300 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
Our initial shareholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, they will appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial shareholders own 42.8% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of the founder shares have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of the board of directors for any reason in any general meeting held prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares have no right to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least 90% of our ordinary shares attending and voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
In addition, as a result of their substantial ownership in our company, our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on other 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.
We may not hold an annual general meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than 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 annual or extraordinary general meetings to elect 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. Directors are appointed for a term of two years. In addition, as holders of our Class A ordinary shares, our public shareholders do not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
A registration of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
If the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units.
While we have registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act, we do not plan on keeping a prospectus current until required to do so pursuant to the warrant agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in our registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
32
If the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold than they would have upon a cash exercise.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in our IPO. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
You may only be able to exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the public warrants for redemption. If you exercise your public warrants on a cashless basis, you would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” is the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
33
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and holders of our private placement warrants 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 Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement, our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units, shares, warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We bear the costs 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 Class A 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 Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial business combination target are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination opportunity in any industry or any region, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business or businesses that can benefit from our management team’s established global relationships and operating experience. Our management team has extensive experience in identifying and executing strategic investments globally and has done so successfully in a number of sectors, including the business services, consumer and lifestyle, niche manufacturing and technology sectors. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibits us from effectuating a business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or 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 securities. 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 proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Past performance by our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team and their affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experience of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team, our sponsor or their affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
34
The prior investment track records of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates may not be available on publicly available sources or may be subject to confidentiality agreements.
As the prior investment track records of our management team, our sponsor and their affiliates, including the investments and transactions in which they have participated in and businesses with which they have been associated with, are primarily private transactions, information regarding their involvement with such transactions may not be publicly available or is subject to confidentiality terms. This may limit the availability of information to our investors and potential target businesses pertaining to our team’s past track record which in turn may adversely affect our marketing efforts and ability to generate attractive business combination opportunities for our company.
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 business combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination 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 herein 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 ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial 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.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of 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 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 do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.20 per share on the redemption of their shares.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our management 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. 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.
35
With limited exceptions, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal 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 shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from a valuation or appraisal firm that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders 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 proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference 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 authorizes the issuance of up to 400,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 40,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 379,829,706 and 39,999,999 authorized but unissued shares of Class A and Class B ordinary shares. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares to redeem the warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares 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. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our IPO; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A 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, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
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 business. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants 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 do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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. investor in our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. investor 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 on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. 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
36
any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. investor a PFIC Annual Information Statement in order to enable the U.S. investor 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 be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. U.S. investors should consult their tax advisers regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
Our initial business combination or transactions relating thereto may result in taxes imposed on us and our shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act and the articles of association, merge with and into another company (including the target company), or reincorporate or redomicile in or transfer our tax residence to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction or merge into a new entity in such jurisdiction.
Tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. A shareholder or warrant holder may be required to recognize taxable income with respect to our business combination or transactions relating thereto in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. In the event of a reincorporation or merger, any tax liability may attach prior to any consummation of redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our initial business combination or thereafter. Shareholders and warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after our initial business combination. In addition, we could be treated as tax resident in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located, which could result in adverse tax consequences to us (e.g., taxation on our worldwide income in such jurisdiction) and to our shareholders or warrant holders (e.g., withholding taxes on dividends and taxation of disposition gains).
We intend that the Company will operate so as to be treated exclusively as a resident of the Cayman Islands for tax purposes until the initial business combination is consummated, but the tax authorities of other jurisdictions may treat it as also being a resident of, or as having a taxable presence in, another jurisdiction for tax purposes.
We intend that the Company, which is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, will have its residence for tax purposes exclusively in the Cayman Islands and that the Company will have no taxable presence in the form of a fixed place of business or permanent establishment in any other jurisdiction, prior to the initial business combination and related transactions.
Because the Company is incorporated under Cayman Islands law and has its registered office in the Cayman Islands, it is considered to be resident in the Cayman Islands for tax purposes. In addition, we intend that the Company will maintain its management, organizational and operational structures in such a manner that the Company should not be regarded as a tax resident of any other jurisdiction either for domestic law purposes and that we should not have a fixed place of business or permanent establishment outside the Cayman Islands (subject to the consummation of the initial business combination).
However, the determination of the Company’s tax residence, which primarily depends upon our place of effective management, as well as the characterization of fixed places of business or permanent establishments outside of our jurisdiction of incorporation, are questions of fact based on all circumstances. Because such determinations are highly fact-sensitive, we give no assurances regarding the outcome.
A failure to maintain exclusive tax residency in the Cayman Islands and / or not to maintain a fixed place of business or permanent establishment outside the Cayman Islands could result in significant adverse tax consequences to the Company. A failure to maintain exclusive tax residency in the Cayman Islands could also result in significant adverse tax consequences for the Company’s shareholders and warrant holders. The impact of this risk would differ based on the views taken by each relevant tax authority and, in respect of the taxation of the Company’s shareholders and warrant holders, on their specific situation.
Changes in tax law or accounting policies may reduce any net returns for investors.
The tax treatment of shareholders, the Company, any special purpose vehicle that the Company may establish and any target company or business which the Company may acquire are all subject to changes in tax laws or practices in the Cayman Islands or any other relevant jurisdiction. The accounting policies of the Company relating to the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants are also subject to change. Any change may reduce any net return derived by investors from a shareholding in the Company.
37
We make no assurances that the Company will be able to make returns for the shareholders in a tax-efficient manner.
The Company takes reasonable steps to generate returns for shareholders in a tax-efficient manner wherever practicable. Certain assumptions have been made in this regard, which may prove incorrect, or taxes may be imposed with respect to any of the Company’s assets, or the Company may be subject to tax on its income, profits, gains or distributions in a particular jurisdiction or jurisdictions in excess of taxes that were anticipated. This could alter the post-tax returns for the shareholders (or the shareholders in certain jurisdictions). The level of post-tax returns for the shareholders may also be adversely affected. Any change in laws or tax authority practices could also adversely affect any post-tax returns of capital to the shareholders or payments of dividends (if any, which the Company does not envisage making in the short to medium term). In addition, the Company may incur costs in taking steps to mitigate any such adverse effect on the post-tax returns for the shareholders.
A majority of our directors and officer live outside the United States, and after our initial business combination, it is possible that all or a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
A majority of our directors and officers live outside of the United States, and it is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result, certain of those persons may have been, and may become, involved in proceedings, investigations and litigation relating to the business affairs of the companies with which they were, are, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers or executives of other companies. As a result of their involvement and positions in these companies, certain persons may have been, and may become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings arising out of or relating to the business affairs of such companies or transactions entered into by such companies. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert our management team’s and board’s attention and resources away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial business combination and may negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial business combination.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our 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. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to their other business activities, or if they elect to prioritize their other business affairs over our company’s activities, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. 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.
38
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 our 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. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. 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 or other relevant law.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’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 proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition 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 role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that key personnel, including members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our 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 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 officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our 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 officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance—Directors and Officers.”
39
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. 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, 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, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, Investcorp Group, 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 during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our 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 directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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. In certain circumstances this may amount to 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.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us, which may include acting as financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing. We may pay such underwriters or their respective affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The fact that the underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests are tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
40
We may engage our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as an advisor or otherwise with respect to our business combinations and certain other transactions. Any salary or fee in connection with such engagement may be conditioned upon the completion of such transactions. This financial interest in the completion of such transactions may influence the advice such entity provides.
We may engage our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as an advisor or otherwise in connection with our initial business combination and certain other transactions and pay such person or entity a salary or fee in an amount that constitutes a market standard for comparable transactions. Pursuant to any such engagement, such person or entity may earn its salary or fee upon closing of the initial business combination. The payment of such salary or fee would likely be conditioned upon the completion of the initial business combination. Therefore, such persons or entities may have additional financial interests in the completion of the initial business combination. These financial interests may influence the advice such entity provides us, which advice would contribute to our decision on whether to pursue a business combination with any particular target.
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, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described in “Item 1. Business—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 substantive 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 “Item 1. Business—Effecting our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders, 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.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may significantly dilute the implied value of your public shares in the event we consummate an initial business combination, and our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial business combination, even if the business combination causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to materially decline.
Though our units were sold in our IPO at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, implying an initial value of $10.20 per public share, our sponsor paid only a nominal aggregate purchase price of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.003 per share. As a result, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted in the event we consummate an initial business combination.
Our sponsor invested an aggregate of $16,725,000 in us in connection with our IPO, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the founder shares and the $16,700,000 purchase price for the private placement warrants. As a result, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares significantly declines, our sponsor will stand to make significant profit on its investment in us. In addition, our sponsor could potentially recoup its entire investment in us even if the trading price of our ordinary shares is less than $1.00 per share and even if the private placement warrants are worthless. As a result, our sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us even if we select and consummate an initial business combination that causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to decline, while our public shareholders who purchased their units in our IPO could lose significant value in their public shares. Our sponsor may therefore be economically incentivized to consummate an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our sponsor had paid the same per share price for the founder shares as our public shareholders paid for their public shares.
41
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they acquired during or after the closing of our IPO), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On April 1, 2021, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our expenses in exchange for 8,625,000 founder shares. On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of founder shares represented 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of our IPO. On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the initial shareholders, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the total size of the IPO would be a maximum of 34,500,000 units, and therefore that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after the IPO, causing 937,500 of the founder shares to be surrendered for no consideration. On December 14, 2021, in connection with the increase in the size of our IPO, we effected a capitalization increasing the number of founder shares held by each initial shareholder by 20%, thereby increasing the aggregate number of issued and outstanding founder shares to 8,625,000. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our sponsor and members of our board of directors acquired founder shares for approximately $0.003 and $0.12 per share, respectively, and we sold units at a price of $10.00 per unit in our IPO; as a result, our sponsor and members of our board of directors 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, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 16,700,000 private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $16,700,000, or $1.00 per warrant. The private placement warrants will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination. 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. This risk may become more acute as the date by which we must consummate a business combination nears, which is now June 17, 2024.
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 report to issue any notes or other debt securities, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers 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 Class A 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 Class A 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. |
42
We may only be able to complete one business combination, 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 developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public 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 or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our 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 and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity securities of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A 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 control of the target business. If this were to occur, 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.
43
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. 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 proposed initial business combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. 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 accordingly do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, any other initial shareholders, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A 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 Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
44
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant 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, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will require a special resolution under the Companies Act, which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company (and will need to comply with any other relevant requirements of our memorandum and articles of association), and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of the public warrants (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements). In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to 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 an initial business combination within the Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The 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 with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company (or 65% of the votes cast by our ordinary shares with respect to amendments to the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), 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 to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our IPO and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, under the Companies Act which requires the affirmative vote of shareholders holding a majority of not less than two-thirds of the shares which, being so entitled, are voted thereon in person or by proxy at a quorate general meeting of the company or a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders entitled to vote at a general meeting of the company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of the votes cast by our ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders, who collectively beneficially own 42.8% of our ordinary shares, will 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 a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated 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 the Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A 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, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
45
Certain agreements related to our IPO may be amended without shareholder approval.
Each of the agreements related to our IPO to which we are a party, other than the warrant agreement (except for provisions of the warrant agreement enabling amendments without shareholder or warrant holder approval that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements) and the investment management trust agreement, may be amended without shareholder approval. Such agreements are: the underwriting agreement; the letter agreement among us and our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors; the registration rights agreement among us and our initial shareholders; and the private placement warrants purchase agreement between us and our sponsor. These agreements contain various provisions that our public shareholders might deem to be material. For example, our letter agreement and the underwriting agreement contain certain lock-up provisions with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants and other securities held by our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers and directors. Amendments to such agreements would require the consent of the applicable parties thereto and would need to be approved by our board of directors, which may do so for a variety of reasons, including to facilitate our initial business combination. 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. Any amendment entered into in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to such initial business combination, and any other material amendment to any of our material agreements will be disclosed in a filing with the SEC. Any such amendments would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. For example, amendments to the lock-up provision discussed above may result in our initial shareholders selling their securities earlier than they would otherwise be permitted, which may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
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.
If the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial 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. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we do not complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account that are available for distribution to public shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
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.
Our initial shareholders own 42.8% of the sum of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. 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. If our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A 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. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, we may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors are likely to continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, 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. Prior to the initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors.
46
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants, or for amendments necessary for the warrants to be classified as equity. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any shareholder or warrant holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, or to make any amendments that are necessary in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements, but otherwise requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants (i) in a manner adverse to a holder of public warrants if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment or (ii) to the extent necessary for the warrants in the good faith determination of our board of directors (taking into account then existing market precedents) to allow for the warrants to be classified as equity in our financial statements without the consent of any shareholder or warrant holder. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Accordingly, our exclusive forum provision will not relieve us of our duties to comply with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder, and holders of our warrants will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with these laws, rules and regulations. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope of the forum provisions of our warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If (i) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value of our Class A ordinary shares is below
47
$9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants are expected to be accounted for as a warrant liability and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We issued an aggregate of 33,950,000 warrants in connection with the IPO (comprised of the 17,250,000 warrants included in the units and the 16,700,000 private placement warrants). We expect to account for these as a warrant liability and will record at fair value upon issuance any change in fair value during each period reported in earnings as determined by us based upon a valuation report obtained from an independent third party valuation firm. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek other special purpose acquisition company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a warrant liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sale price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrants holders and provided certain other conditions are met. We will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 17,250,000 Class A ordinary shares as part of the units offered in our IPO and, simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 16,700,000 warrants, at $1.00 per warrant. In addition, if the sponsor makes any working capital loans, it may convert those loans into up to an additional 2,000,000 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. Our public warrants are also redeemable by us for Class A ordinary shares. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our IPO except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by us (except in certain circumstances) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
48
Because each unit contains one-half of one warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other special purpose acquisition companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if it included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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 the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and 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 United States of America (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls 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 Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. 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.
49
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 for each fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is less than $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues are less than $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is less than $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
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 initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2023. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. 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 business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
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 United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs are 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 are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary and other responsibilities 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 (and other Commonwealth) 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 and other responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, 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 United States.
We have been advised by Travers Thorp Alberga, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to 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) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). 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 management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
50
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Security breaches, cyberattacks and other disruptions to information technology systems and networks owned by us, or third parties, such as vendors or suppliers, could interfere with our operations and could compromise the confidentiality of private customer data or our proprietary information.
We rely upon hardware, software, and information technology systems and networks, some of which are managed by third parties, to process, transmit and store electronic information. Additionally, we collect and store sensitive data, including proprietary business information, in data centers and on information technology networks (including networks that may be controlled or maintained by third parties). We do not generally collect or store personally identifiable information of individuals. The confidentiality, integrity and availability of these systems and networks, and maintenance of the information processed by these systems and networks, is critical to our business operations and strategy. We face numerous and evolving risks that threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of our systems, networks and information, as well as the risk of operational disruption, failure or capacity constraints of any of the third parties that facilitate our business activities. Such parties could also be the source of a cyberattack on, or breach of, our operational systems, network, data or infrastructure. Our information technology systems and networks, as well as those of our service providers, are vulnerable to intrusion damage, disruptions or shutdowns caused by attacks by hackers, computer viruses or worms, malware (including ransomware), social engineering attacks (such as phishing), denial of service attacks or breaches due to errors, negligence or malfeasance by employees, contractors and others who have access to or obtain unauthorized access to these systems and networks. Remote and hybrid working arrangements also increase cybersecurity risks due to the challenges associated with managing remote computing assets and security vulnerabilities that are present in many non-corporate and home networks. We are also vulnerable to malicious code that may be embedded in open-source software as well as “bugs,” misconfigurations and other vulnerabilities associated with commercial software that is integrated into our or our service providers’ systems, networks, products or services. Therefore, no assurance can be given that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or effective in protecting our systems, networks and information.
The occurrence of a major cyberattack or other security incident could materially compromise the confidentiality, integrity and/or availability of critical systems and networks and data that resides within them. Similarly, such an occurrence could result in the compromise or loss of the information processed by these systems and networks. Such events could result in, among other things, the loss of proprietary data, interruptions or delays in our business operations and damage to our reputation. In addition, such events could increase the risk of claims by regulatory agencies or private parties alleging that we are non-compliant with applicable laws or regulations, subjecting us to potential liability or regulatory penalties and related costs under laws protecting the security of confidential data; increase our costs of compliance and remediation; require us to change aspects of our business, our systems or our service providers; disrupt our operations; and/or harm our reputation. There can be no guarantee that any or all costs or losses incurred will be partially or fully insured.
We regularly experience and expect to continue to experience cybersecurity attacks and security incidents in varying degrees. Cybersecurity threats and threat actors are becoming more sophisticated. Such threats are unpredictable as to their timing, nature and scope. As a result, we may be unable to anticipate or prevent future attacks, particularly as the methodologies utilized by attackers change frequently or are not recognized until launched, and we may be unable to investigate or remediate incidents due to the increased use by threat actors of tools and techniques that are designed to circumvent controls (including through the use of artificial intelligence), to avoid detection, and to remove or obfuscate forensic evidence.
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.
51
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries in General
If we effect our initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such 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 company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign 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 such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| • | 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; |
| • | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| • | corruption; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; |
| • | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| • | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| • | terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; and |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
52
Outbreaks of civil and political unrest and acts of terrorism have occurred in countries in Europe, Africa, South America, and the Middle East, including countries close to or where we may seek an acquisition. Continued or escalated civil and political unrest and acts of terrorism in the countries in which we may operate could result in our curtailing operations or delays in project completions. In the event that countries in which we may operate experience civil or political unrest or acts of terrorism, especially in events where such unrest leads to an unseating of the established government, our operations could be materially impaired. Our potential international operations may also be adversely affected, directly or indirectly, by laws, policies, and regulations of the United States affecting foreign trade and taxation, including U.S. trade sanctions. Realization of any of the factors listed above could materially and adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, or cash flows.
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, financial condition and results of operations.
Corporate governance standards in non-US countries may not be as strict or developed as in the United States and such weakness may hide issues and operational practices that are detrimental to a target business.
General corporate governance standards in non-US countries are weaker than those in the United States. This could result in unfavorable related party transactions, over-leveraging, improper accounting, family company interconnectivity and poor management. Local laws often do not go far enough to prevent improper business practices. Therefore, shareholders may not be treated impartially and equally as a result of poor management practices, asset shifting, conglomerate structures that result in preferential treatment to some parts of the overall company, and cronyism. The lack of transparency and ambiguity in the regulatory process also may result in inadequate credit evaluation and weakness that may precipitate or encourage financial crisis. In our evaluation of a business combination we will have to evaluate the corporate governance of a target and the business environment, and in accordance with United States laws for reporting companies take steps to implement practices that will cause compliance with all applicable rules and accounting practices. Notwithstanding these intended efforts, there may be endemic practices and local laws that could add risk to an investment we ultimately make and that result in an adverse effect on our operations and financial results.
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, our management may 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 United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will 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. 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’s 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, 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.
53
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, including our memorandum and articles of association or equivalent constitutive document. 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.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
We may be exposed to liabilities under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and any determination that we violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We are subject to the Foreign Corrupt Practice Act (“FCPA”) and other laws that prohibit improper payments or offers of payments to foreign governments and their officials and political parties by U.S. persons and issuers as defined by the statute for the purpose of obtaining or retaining business. We will have operations, agreements with third parties and make sales in Europe, which may experience corruption. Our proposed activities in Europe create the risk of unauthorized payments or offers of payments by one of the employees, consultants, or sales agents of our Company, because these parties are not always subject to our control. It will be our policy to implement safeguards to discourage these practices by our employees. Also, our existing safeguards and any future improvements may prove to be less than effective, and the employees, consultants, or sales agents of our Company may engage in conduct for which we might be held responsible. Violations of the FCPA may result in severe criminal or civil sanctions, and we may be subject to other liabilities, which could negatively affect our business, operating results and financial condition. In addition, the government may seek to hold our Company liable for successor liability FCPA violations committed by companies in which we invest or that we acquire.
We employ a mail forwarding service, which may delay or disrupt our ability to receive mail in a timely manner.
Mail addressed to the Company and received at its registered office will be forwarded unopened to the forwarding address supplied by Company to be dealt with. None of the Company, its 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, which may impair your ability to communicate with us.
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.
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.
54
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.
| Item 1B. | Unresolved Staff Comments. |
None.
| Item 1C. | Cybersecurity. |
We are a SPAC with no business operations. Since our IPO, our sole business activity has been identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates. Therefore, we do not consider that we face significant cybersecurity risk and have not adopted any cybersecurity risk management program or formal processes for assessing cybersecurity risk. Our board of directors is generally responsible for the oversight of risks from cybersecurity threats, if there is any. We have not encountered any cybersecurity incidents since our IPO.
| Item 2. | Properties. |
Our executive offices are located at Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102, our telephone number is +1 (345) 949-5122.
| Item 3. | Legal Proceedings. |
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
| Item 4. | Mine Safety Disclosures. |
None.
PART II
| Item 5. | Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities. |
Market Information.
Our Units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “IVCBU”, “IVCB” and “IVCBW”, respectively.
Holders
Although there are a larger number of beneficial owners, at April 8, 2024, there was 1 holder of record of our Units, 7 holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares and 2 holders of record of our separately traded warrants.
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 our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any other stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
55
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
On December 17, 2021, we consummated the IPO of 34,500,000 units. The units sold in the IPO were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $345,000,000. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC acted as underwriters of the offering. The securities in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-261301). The registration statement was declared effective on December 14, 2021.
Substantially concurrently with the closing of the IPO, the Company completed the private sale of 16,700,000 warrants (the “private placement warrants”) at a purchase price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, to the Company’s sponsor, Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited (the “sponsor”), generating gross proceeds to the Company of $16,700,000. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees: (1) they will not be redeemable by the Company (except in certain redemption scenarios when the price per Ordinary Share equals or exceeds $10.00 (as adjusted)); (2) they (including the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the sponsor until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination; (3) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis; and (4) they (including the Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
We paid a total of $6,900,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $1,103,227 for other costs and expenses related to the IPO. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $12,075,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions.
A total of $351,900,000 of the net proceeds from the sale of the units in the IPO and the private placements was placed in a trust account established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders with J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee.
The Company incurred approximately $20,078,227 of offering costs in connection with the IPO, including $6,900,000 of underwriting fees, $12,075,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $1,103,227 of other costs. There has been no material change in the planned use of proceeds from the IPO as described in our final prospectus dated December 17, 2021, which was filed with the SEC.
On March 14, 2023, the Company convened the First Extraordinary General Meeting virtually, solely with respect to voting on the proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from March 17, 2023 to December 17, 2023 and the proposal to remove the limitation that the Company shall not redeem public shares to the extent that such redemption would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001. In connection with the First Extraordinary General Meeting, holders of public shares were afforded the opportunity to require the Company to redeem their public shares for their pro rate share of the trust account. 15,494,333 out of 34,500,000 public shares were redeemed at a redemption price of approximately $10.43 per share, leaving 19,005,667 public shares remaining outstanding.
On December 5, 2023, the Company convened the Second Extraordinary General Meeting virtually, solely with respect to voting on the proposal to extend the date by which the Company must complete its initial business combination from December 17, 2023 to June 17, 2024. In connection with the Second Extraordinary General Meeting, holders of public shares were afforded the opportunity to require the Company to redeem their public shares for their pro rate share of the trust account. 7,460,372 out of 19,005,667 public shares were redeemed at a redemption price of approximately $10.9972 per share, leaving 11,545,295 public shares remaining outstanding. Following this redemption, the balance in the trust account was approximately $127.0 million.
| Item 7. | Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Report including, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this Report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or the Company’s management, identify forward- looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC.
56
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on March 22, 2021 as a Cayman Islands exempted company and incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or assets. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination, shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with a business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our IPO; |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of redeemable Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of our redeemable Class A 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; |
| • | 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 units, redeemable Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in: |
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt 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 redeemable Class A 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 Class A 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. |
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at December 31, 2023, we had cash of $98,676. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
57
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for our IPO. Following our IPO, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had a net loss of $4,414,640 which consisted of a $6,229,750 loss on the change in fair value of warrant liabilities, $9,306,623 in formation and operating costs, and a loss on exchange rate of $17,539, offset by $11,139,272 in interest income on Investments held in Trust Account.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had net income of $26,966,513 which was comprised of a $24,286,750 gain from change in warrant liability, a $9,239 gain on foreign exchange, and $5,075,756 in interest earned on Investments held in trust account offset by $2,405,232 in formation and operating expense.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the founder shares to our sponsor to cover for certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for the issuance of the 8,625,000 founder shares, and the loans entered into in the principal amount of up to $2,000,000 (the “March 2023 Loan”), in the principal amount of $1,700,000 (the “July 2023 Loan”), in the principal amount of up to $500,000 (the “November 2023 Loan”) and in the principal amount of up to $1,250,000 (the “Second November 2023 Loan,” collectively, the “Loans”) with an affiliate of the sponsor to provide the Company with additional working capital and to fund Extension Contributions into the trust account until the earlier of a completion of a business combination or the Extended Date.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we utilized $1,830,333 in operating activities, which was largely driven by an increase of $6,980,366 in accounts payable and accrued expenses, $513,463 in Prepaid and other as well as a $6,229,750 change in fair value of our warrant liabilities, offset by $11,076,566 in interest earned and a $62,706 interest receivable, both on our Investments held in the trust account.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we were provided $240,349,972 from our investing activities, which was primarily driven by $243,649,972 redemptions as a result of our extraordinary shareholder meetings offset by $3,300,000 in Contributions.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we utilized $238,899,972 in our financing activities, which was the result of the $243,649,972 payout of redemptions by our shareholders offset by $4,750,000 in proceeds from our promissory note.
The net proceeds from the sale of the units in our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $16,700,000, after deducting offering expenses of $1,103,227 and underwriting commissions of $6,900,000 (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $12,075,000), was $351,900,000, which was put into the trust account and includes the deferred underwriting commissions described above. The proceeds held in the trust account are invested in an interest-bearing account until the earlier of the consummation of our initial business combination or liquidation. Our shareholders have exercised their right of redemption in the amount of $243,649,972, which leaves $127,703,238 in proceeds and interest earned in the trust account as of December 31, 2023.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (excluding deferred underwriting commissions) net of any redemptions, to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay our taxes, if any. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, as of December 31, 2023, we have available to us approximately $98,676 of proceeds held outside the trust account, as well as any funds from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. We will use these funds to primarily identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
If our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our 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. In the event that our initial business combination
58
does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. 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.
On March 7, 2023, we entered into a non-interest bearing convertible unsecured loan (the “March 2023 Loan”) in the principal amount of up to $2,000,000 from one of our sponsor’s affiliates to provide us with additional working capital and to fund the initial Contributions described below. The portion of the March 2023 Loan used to provide us with additional working capital was not deposited into our trust account. If we do not consummate an initial business combination, the March 2023 Loan is to be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or would have been forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. The March 2023 Loan is convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The conversion option represents an embedded derivative under ASC 815-15, “Embedded Derivatives.” The Company has determined that based on the valuation of its private placement warrants and the fact that a business combination is not considered probable until such time as it is consummated, the value of this conversion option is de minimis.
On March 14, 2023, we convened the First Extraordinary General Meeting virtually, at which our sponsor agreed, by making monthly advancements on the March 2023 Loan, to contribute Extension Contributions into the trust account the lesser of (x) an aggregate of $350,000 or (y) $0.03 per share for each public share that was not redeemed at the First Extraordinary General Meeting for each monthly period (commencing on March 17, 2023 and ending on the 17th day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, until the earlier of the completion of the initial business combination and the Extended Date.
In addition, on July 6, 2023, November 15, 2023 and November 27, 2023, the Company entered into non-interest bearing unsecured loans in the principal amount of up to $1,700,000 (the “July 2023 Loan”) and in the principal amount of up to $500,000 (the “November 2023 Loan”) and in the principal amount of up to $1,250,000 (the “Second November 2023 Loan” collectively, together with the March 2023 Loan, the July 2023 Loan and the November 2023 Loan, the “Loans”) with an affiliate of the sponsor to provide the Company with additional working capital and to fund monthly contributions into the trust account until the earlier of a completion of a business combination or the Extended Date. The July 2023 Loan, the November 2023 Loan and the Second November 2023 Loan bear no interest and shall be due and payable on the earlier of (i) the date on which the Company consummates a business combination or (ii) the date of that the winding up of the Company is effective. If the Company does not consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date, the July 2023 Loan, the November 2023 Loan and the Second November 2023 Loan will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If at any time the board of directors determines that the Company will not be able to consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date and that the Company shall instead liquidate, the sponsor’s obligation to continue to make contributions shall cease immediately upon such determination.
On December 5, 2023, we convened the Second Extraordinary General Meeting virtually, at which our sponsor agreed, by making monthly advancements on the Loans, to contribute Extension Contributions into the trust account the lesser of (x) an aggregate of $150,000 or (y) $0.02 per share for each public share that were not redeemed at the Second Extraordinary General Meeting for each monthly period (commencing on December 17, 2023 and ending on the 17th day of each subsequent month), or portion thereof, until the earlier of the completion of the initial business combination and the Extended Date. For the avoidance of doubt, the maximum aggregate Extension Contributions to the trust account shall not exceed $900,000 based on up to six monthly Extension Contributions through the Extended Date.
The total amount outstanding under the Loans entered into on March 7, 2023, July 6, 2023, November 15, 2023, November 27, 2023, and any other Working Capital Loans (as defined below) as of December 31, 2023 was $4,750,000. There was no amount outstanding under any Working Capital Loans as of December 31, 2022.
We expect our future primary liquidity requirements during the period until the business combination to include legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; Nasdaq and other regulatory fees; consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for initial business combination target; and general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.
In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more
59
favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
If the Company is not able to consummate a business combination before the end of the Extended Date, the Company will commence an automatic winding up, dissolution and liquidation. Management has determined that the automatic liquidation, should a business combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution also raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. While management intends to complete a business combination, it is uncertain whether the Company will be able to do so. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities.
Under Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-15, “Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40): Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern” (“ASU 2014-15”), these conditions, including the working capital deficit and proximity to the Extended Date, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. There is no assurance that our plan to consummate a business combination will be successful within the Extension Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Controls and Procedures
We are required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
We will assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| • | staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| • | reconciliation of accounts; |
| • | proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| • | evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| • | documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| • | documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2023, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K.
60
Commitments and Contractual Obligations
Registration Rights
The holders of the founder shares and private placement warrants (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights and shareholder agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the IPO, requiring the Company to register such securities for resale (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion to Class A ordinary shares). The holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a business combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriter will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $12,075,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriter from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that the Company completes a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Consulting Agreements
In April 2023, the Company entered into two agreements with each of the IPO underwriters, each to act as a capital markets advisor and as a placement agent in relation to the business combination. On June 9, 2023, the Company terminated the two engagement letters with one of the IPO underwriters, and such termination nullified the Company’s obligation to pay any fees under such agreements. With respect to the other IPO underwriter, as compensation for their services, half of a placement fee of 3.0% of the gross proceeds of securities sold in the placement will be paid to the agent upon consummation of the placement (the “Placement Fee”) and $4,000,000 will be paid to the agent upon consummation of the business combination (the “Transaction Fee”). The Placement Fee and the Transaction Fee will only become payable in the event the placement and the business combination are consummated, respectively, and as such nothing will be recorded until that time.
In June 2023, the Company entered into an agreement with a third-party consultant to provide advisory services in relation to the business combination. As compensation for those services, an advisory fee of $2,000,000 is payable in the event the transaction is consummated (the “Advisory Fee”). The Advisory Fee will only become payable in the event the business combination is consummated and as such nothing will be recorded until that time.
Additionally, the agent and the consultant are eligible to be reimbursed in the aggregate up to $500,000 in expenses in the event the business combination is not consummated and $1,000,000 in the event it is consummated. As of December 31, 2023, approximately $1,608,000 has been incurred by the third parties. As the business combination is not yet considered probable, $500,000 of the approximately $1,608,000 is accrued in the Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses line on the balance sheet.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (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 report of the independent registered public accounting firm 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 our IPO or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with GAAP requires Management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. As of the end of the reporting period, we consider our critical accounting estimates to be the fair value of our warrants and convertible promissory note (as defined in Item 13 below).
61
Critical Accounting Policies
Management’s discussion and analysis of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources are based on our audited financial statements. We describe our significant accounting policies in Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, of the Notes to Financial Statements included in this annual report. Our audited financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Certain of our accounting policies require that management apply significant judgments in defining the appropriate assumptions integral to financial estimates. On an ongoing basis, management reviews the accounting policies, assumptions, estimates and judgments to ensure that our financial statements are presented fairly and in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Judgments are based on historical experience, terms of existing contracts, industry trends and information available from outside sources, as appropriate. However, by their nature, judgments are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty, and, therefore, actual results could differ from our estimates.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Debt with Conversion and other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40). The new guidance eliminates the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models for convertible instruments. It also amends the accounting for certain contracts in an entity’s own equity that are currently accounted for as derivatives because of specific settlement provisions. In addition, the new guidance modifies how particular convertible instruments and certain contracts that may be settled in cash or shares impact the diluted EPS computation. This guidance is effective as of January 1, 2024 for smaller reporting companies (early adoption is permitted effective January 1, 2021). The Company has adopted ASU No. 2020-06 upon inception. The impact to the balance sheet, statement of operations and cash flows was not material.
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740) — Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”) in order to enhance the transparency and usefulness of income tax disclosures. The guidance is applicable to all entities subject to income tax and it will require disclosure of certain categories within the rate reconciliation to improve consistency as well as disclosure of reconciling items which meet a certain quantitative threshold which will improve transparency. Additionally, entities must disclose the amount of taxes paid to federal, state and foreign municipalities. For public business entities ASU 2023-09 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company expects to adopt the standard for the fiscal year beginning December 30, 2024. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of its pending adoption of ASU 2023-09 on its financial position, results of operations or financial statement disclosure.
We have considered all new accounting pronouncements and have concluded that there are no new pronouncements that may have a material impact on our results of operations, financial condition, or cash flows, based on the current information.
Factors That May Adversely Affect Our Results of Operations
Our results of operations and our ability to complete an initial business combination may be adversely affected by various factors that could cause economic uncertainty and volatility in the financial markets, many of which are beyond our control. Our business could be impacted by, among other things, downturns in the financial markets or in economic conditions, increases in oil prices, inflation, increases in interest rates, supply chain disruptions, declines in consumer confidence and spending and geopolitical instability. We cannot at this time fully predict the likelihood of one or more of the above events, their duration or magnitude or the extent to which they may negatively impact our business and our ability to complete an initial business combination.
| Item 7A. | Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk |
We are a smaller reporting company as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
| Item 8. | Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
This information appears following Item 15 of this annual report and is included herein by reference.
| Item 9. | Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure |
None.
62
| Item 9A. | Controls and Procedures. |
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this annual report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”) evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2023, pursuant to Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2023, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective due to material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting in connection with lack of controls to assure the accuracy and completeness of accrued expenses and interest earned in trust account.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, we concluded that our controls over recognition of accrued expenses was not effectively designed or maintained. Our management performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting practices in the United States. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly, in all material respects, our financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the periods presented.
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management team, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
In light of the material weakness described above, our management team has performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures. We have enhanced, and will continue to enhance, our internal controls and procedures. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we plan to continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013), our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2023.
In light of the material weakness described above, our management team has performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures. We have enhanced, and will continue to enhance, internal controls and procedures. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we plan to continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
This report does not include an attestation report of the Company’s registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. As an emerging growth company, management’s report is not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm.
| Item 9B. | Other Information. |
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, none of the Company’s directors or executive officers adopted, modified or terminated any contract, instruction or written plan for the purchase or sale of the Company’s ordinary shares that was intended to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Exchange Act, Rule 10b5-1(c) or any “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement.”
| Item 9C. | Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. |
None.
63
PART III
| Item 10. | Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. |
Directors and Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
| Name |
Age | Title | ||||
| Hazem Ben-Gacem |
53 | Chairman | ||||
| Peter McKellar |
58 | Vice-Chairman | ||||
| Pam Jackson |
65 | Director | ||||
| Laurence Ponchaut |
53 | Director | ||||
| Adah Almutairi |
47 | Director | ||||
| Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith |
61 | Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| Alptekin Diler |
46 | Chief Investment Officer | ||||
| Craig Sinfield-Hain |
51 | Chief Financial Officer | ||||
Our current directors and officers are as follows:
Hazem Ben-Gacem. Hazem Ben-Gacem has been our Chairman of the board of directors since October 19, 2021. Hazem is Investcorp’s Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chief Executive Officer of CP Holdings Limited with over 25 years of experience in successfully leading private equity investments across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Prior to Hazem’s appointment as Co-Chief Executive Officer of Investcorp and CP Holdings Limited in 2018, Hazem was the head of the European and Technology Private Equity platforms at Investcorp International Ltd from 2014 through 2018 and, before joining Investcorp International Ltd in 1994, worked at Credit Suisse First Boston’s M&A team from 1992 through 1994. Today, Hazem chairs the investment committees of the firm’s Private Equity activities in Europe, Middle East and Asia and is involved in multiple board directorships of reputable companies. In addition, as of November 2023, Hazem serves as a member of the Board of Investcorp Capital plc, which is an indirect subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.(c) and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Hazem is well-qualified to serve as our Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity along with his leadership experience.
Peter McKellar. Peter McKellar has been our Vice-Chairman of the board of directors since October 27, 2021. Peter McKellar is Chairman of Princess Private Equity Holdings Limited, a FTSE listed company, since November 2023, Deputy Chairman of AssetCo plc, an AIM-quoted company, since January 2021, a non-executive director of 3i Group plc, a FTSE 100 listed company, since June 2021, and a member of the Board of Scottish Enterprise since February 2021. He is a director of a number of other privately held companies. In addition, as of November 2023, Peter serves as a member of the Board of Investcorp Capital plc, which is an indirect subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.(c) and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Previously, Peter held roles as Executive Chairman and Global Head of Private Markets at Standard Life Aberdeen plc, the international asset and wealth manager, from 2017 through 2020, and Head of Private Equity and Infrastructure at Standard Life plc, from 2012 through 2017. Peter was also lead manager of Standard Life Private Equity Trust, a London-listed investment company, from 2001 through 2015. Peter is well-qualified to serve as our Vice-Chairman due to his extensive experience in private equity, along with his leadership experience.
Pam Jackson. Pam Jackson serves as a member of our board of directors and chairs our Audit Committee and its Special Committee. Pam was the CEO of WPEI Ltd (trading as Level 20), a not-for-profit organization focused on improving gender diversity in the private equity industry from 2019 to 2023 and remains as a non-executive director of the company. In addition, as of November 2023, Pam serves as a member of the Board of Investcorp Capital plc, which is an indirect subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.(c) and is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. Before Pam’s appointment to Level 20 in 2019, Pam was a partner and supervisory board member at PwC where she held various roles including Middle East Deals leader, private equity and corporate M&A partner from 1990 through 2019. She is a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor. She served as a non-executive director of ArtsEd International from 2019 to 2022. Pam is well-qualified to serve as a director due to her extensive experience in private equity along with her leadership experience.
Laurence Ponchaut. Laurence Ponchaut serves as a member of our board of directors. Laurence is the Founder and Managing Director of the consultancy firm Distinct Communication. Previously, Laurence was an economic expert for the European Commission (the Directorate-General for International Partnerships) (1993-1995), a Big4 strategy consultant and the Head of Corporate Reputation for ArcelorMittal (2004-2009). Laurence is involved in multiple board directorships including Letzpact (2021), ProRSE (2017) and was previously a Non-Executive Director of Merlux Maritime SA (2019-2020). Laurence is well-qualified to serve as a director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.
64
Adah Almutairi. Adah Almutairi serves as a member of our board of directors. Adah is a member of the board of directors of eLux Medical Inc., a medical technology company, since January 2013, a member of the board of trustees of Future Investment Initiative Institute, a non-profit organization focusing on startup technology investments, since January 2020, and a member of the board of directors of Pharmaceutical Investment Company, a pharmaceuticals and biotechnology company, since January 2021. Previously, Adah was founder and chief executive officer of eLux Medical Inc. from January 2013 through August 2016. Adah is a professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, faculty in the departments of bioengineering and nanoengineering and director of the Center for Excellence in nanomedicine and engineering in the Institute of Engineering in Medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Adah’s work focuses on nanomedicine, nanotechnology, chemistry and polymer science. Adah is a 2016 Kavli Fellow and has received numerous honors and awards such as the NIH director’s new innovator award in 2009 for her work on “Chemically Amplified Response Strategies for Medical Sciences”. Adah’s work was highlighted by U.S. NIH director Francis Collins to Congress as one of the 4 most important American technology breakthroughs of the year 2012. Adah is well-qualified to serve as Director due to her extensive business and leadership experience.
Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith. Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith has been our Chief Executive Officer since October 27, 2021. Her current Chair appointments are Mind Gym plc, the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education and the Airport Operators Association. She is a non-executive director for the Thames Tideway Tunnel., SNC-Lavalin Inc and Everyman Media Group plc. Ruby was formerly the Chief Executive of the Mitie Group plc from 2007 through 2016, Business Ambassador for the UK Government from 2012 through 2019 and Senior Independent director and non-executive director at Page Group plc from 2007 through 2017.
Alptekin Diler. Alptekin Diler has been our Chief Investment Officer since October 27, 2021. Alptekin is a senior member of Investcorp’s Private Equity MENA team and its Investment Committee. Previously, Alptekin was a director in Investcorp’s Global Capital Management team from 2011 through 2014, Investment Manager at ADM Capital from January 2011 through June 2011, FinansInvest from 2005 through 2008 and business development and M&A associate at Akenerji from 2002 through 2005. Alptekin is a board member of Turkey-based Namet Gida Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., a meat producer, as of 2018 Arvento M2M Elektronik Sistemler Sanayi Ticaret A.S., as of 2015, and Arvento Mobil Sistemler A.S. (2015), a MENA telematics company, as of 2015.
Craig Sinfield-Hain. Craig Sinfield-Hain has been our Chief Financial Officer since October 27, 2021. Craig has been with Investcorp for 18 years. During his career at Investcorp he has held various roles within the Finance department including Group Financial Controller from 2009 through 2012. Craig is currently the Head of Business Analysis and Planning and also Head of Investment Structuring and Business Support in Europe. Craig joined Investcorp after completing an MBA with distinction at INSEAD in France in 2002. Prior to Investcorp he worked as an actuarial consultant for Watson Wyatt (now Willis Towers Watson) for nine years. Craig is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and holds a bachelor of sciences degree in Actuarial Science from the University of Illinois, from which he graduated summa cum laude with highest departmental distinction. Craig is also involved in multiple board directorships of Investcorp group companies and of holding companies for Investcorp’s investments in private equity and real estate.
Number, Terms of Office and Appointment of Directors and Officers
Our board of directors consists of five members. Each of our directors holds office for a two-year term.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
Director Independence
The rules of Nasdaq require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. We have three “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi is an “independent director” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
65
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Both our audit committee and our compensation committee are composed solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that has been approved by our board and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi serve as members of our audit committee, and Pam Jackson chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Pam Jackson qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| • | assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| • | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| • | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (1) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| • | meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”; reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| • | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi serve as members of our compensation committee. Adah Almutairi chairs the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the compensation committee must be independent. Currently, we do not pay any of our executive officers any salary or benefits.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | 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 making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; |
| • | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
66
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| • | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee is only responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The members of our nominating and corporate governance are Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi. Laurence Ponchaut serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards, all the directors on the nominating and corporate governance committee must be independent. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares do not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the purpose and responsibilities of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| • | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| • | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| • | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| • | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. You may review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors will be provided without charge upon request from us. If we make any amendments to our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or Nasdaq rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference herein or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.
67
Conflicts of Interest
Please see “Item 1. Business—Conflicts of Interest” for a description of the potential conflicts of interests of our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Directors and Officers
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for exculpation and indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We have purchased 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. We have also entered into indemnity agreements with them.
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 have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations 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.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
| Item 11. | Executive Compensation. |
None of our officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our sponsor, 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. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share. On December 14, 2021, in connection with the increase in the size of our IPO, we effected a capitalization increasing the number of founder shares held by each initial shareholder by 20%, thereby increasing the aggregate number of issued and outstanding founder shares to 8,625,000.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
68
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 officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our 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 officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
| Item 12. | Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters. |
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of April 8, 2024, and assuming:
| • | 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 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 of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of April 8, 2024.
The percentages in the following table assume that there are 20,170,295 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, of which 20,170,294 are Class A ordinary shares and one is a Class B ordinary share.
| Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares |
|
||||||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage Class |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage Class |
Approximate Percentage Total Shares |
|||||||||||||||
| Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited(2) |
7,079,500 | 35.1 | % | 1 | 100.0 | % | 35.1 | % | ||||||||||||
| Saba Capital Management, L.P.(4) |
427,537 | 2.3 | % | — | — | 2.3 | % | |||||||||||||
| Hazem Ben-Gacem(2) |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Peter McKellar(5) |
575,000 | 2.9 | % | — | — | 2.9 | % | |||||||||||||
| Pam Jackson(5) |
36,000 | * | — | — | * | |||||||||||||||
| Laurence Ponchaut(5) |
36,000 | * | — | — | * | |||||||||||||||
| Adah Almutairi(5) |
36,000 | * | — | — | * | |||||||||||||||
| Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith(5) |
862,500 | 4.3 | % | — | — | 2.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Alptekin Diler |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Craig Sinfield-Hain |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| All officers and directors as a group (8 individuals) |
1,545,500 | 7.7 | % | — | — | 7.7 | % | |||||||||||||
| * | Less than one percent. |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the beneficial owners named in the table below is Century Yard, Cricket Square, Elgin Avenue, PO Box 1111, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands KY1-1102. |
| (2) | Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited is a consolidated subsidiary of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C., which is domiciled in Bahrain as a holding company. Based on a Schedule 13G filed on February 14, 2024, the shares are beneficially owned by Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, Investcorp Investment Holdings Limited, Investcorp S.A., Investcorp Holdings Limited and SIPCO Holdings Limited. |
| (4) | Based on a Schedule 13G filed on February 9, 2024, the shares are beneficially owned by Saba Capital Management, L.P., Saba Capital Management GP, LLC and Boaz R. Weinstein, whose business address is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
| (5) | Such shares shall vest and the forfeiture restrictions with respect to such shares shall lapse, upon the successful completion of our initial business combination. |
69
Our shareholders beneficially own 42.8% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Only our initial shareholders have the right to vote on any resolution of shareholders to appoint or remove directors prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment of any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our sponsor has purchased an aggregate of 16,700,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, or $16,700,000 in the aggregate. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in our IPO except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by us, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants was added to the proceeds from the IPO to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing of our IPO, $351,900,000 was held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the Extension Period, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described below.
Europe Acquisition Holdings Limited, our sponsor, and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and management team. 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) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after our initial business combination and (B) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion or exercise thereof, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination except in each case (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliate or family member of any of our officers or directors, any affiliate of our sponsor or to any member of the sponsor or any of their affiliates, (b) in the case of an individual, as a gift to such person’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of such person’s immediate family, 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 such person; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or our sponsor’s articles of association upon dissolution of our sponsor, (g) in the event of our liquidation prior to our consummation of our initial business combination; or (h) in the event that, subsequent to our consummation of an initial business combination, we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (f) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement.
Registration Rights
The holders of the (i) founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to our IPO, (ii) private placement warrants, which were issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our IPO and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed prior to or on the effective date of our IPO. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and assuming
70
$2,000,000 of working capital loans are converted into private placement warrants, we will be obligated to register up to 27,325,000 Class A ordinary shares and 18,700,000 warrants. The number of Class A ordinary shares includes (i) 8,625,000 Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon conversion of the founder shares, (ii) 16,700,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and (iii) 2,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes (i) 16,700,000 private placement warrants and (ii) 2,000,000 private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans. 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. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
| Item 13. | Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence. |
On April 1, 2021, our sponsor purchased 8,625,000 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. On October 25, 2021, our sponsor effected a surrender of 1,437,500 founder shares to the Company for no consideration, resulting in a decrease in the number of founder shares outstanding from 8,625,000 to 7,187,500, such that the total number of founder shares would represent 20% of the total number of ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of our IPO. On November 3, 2021, our sponsor transferred 718,750 founder shares to Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, 479,167 founder shares to Peter McKellar, and 30,000 founder shares to each of Pam Jackson, Laurence Ponchaut and Adah Almutairi, at approximately $0.12 per share. On December 14, 2021, in connection with the increase in the size of our IPO, we effected a capitalization increasing the number of founder shares held by each initial shareholder by 20%, thereby increasing the aggregate number of issued and outstanding founder shares to 8,625,000.
The sponsor and the Company’s directors and executive officers have agreed, subject to certain limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the founder shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of a business combination and (B) subsequent to a business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 120 days after a business combination, or (y) if the Company consummates a transaction after the initial business combination which results in shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property.
On December 22, 2023 and effected on January 2, 2024, the initial shareholders voluntarily elected to convert an aggregate 8,624,999 Class B ordinary shares to Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis in accordance with the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. All of the terms and conditions applicable to the Class B ordinary shares set forth in the letter agreement continue to apply to the Class A ordinary shares into which the Class B ordinary shares converted, including the voting agreement, transfer restrictions and waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to the trust account or any monies or other assets held therein. Following the conversion, there were 20,170,294 Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding (constituted by 11,545,295 Class A ordinary shares held by public shareholders and an aggregate 8,624,999 Class A ordinary shares held by the initial shareholders) and one Class B ordinary share issued and outstanding (held by the sponsor). A shareholder’s voting power consists of the combined voting power of the Class A ordinary shares and the Class B ordinary shares owned beneficially by such shareholder. Therefore, there has been no effect to the votes required to approve the proposals in connection with the approval of the business combination and related transactions or the counting of the votes at any meeting of the Company as a result of the conversion.
Simultaneously with the closing of its IPO, the Company consummated the private placement of 16,700,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant with the sponsor, generating proceeds of $16.7 million. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold in the IPO except that the private placement warrants, so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) will not be redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not (including Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (iii) may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) will be entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
On April 1, 2021, the sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000. On December 23, 2021, the Company paid the remaining balance on the Promissory Note.
On March 7, 2023, the Company entered into a non-interest bearing convertible unsecured loan (the “March 2023 Loan”) in the principal amount of up to $2.0 million from one of the sponsor’s affiliates to provide the Company with additional working capital and to fund monthly contributions into the trust account until the earlier of a completion of a business combination or the Extended Date. If the Company does not consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date, the March 2023 Loan will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. The March 2023 Loan is convertible into private placement warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
71
In addition, on July 6, 2023, November 15, 2023 and November 27, 2023, the Company entered into non-interest bearing unsecured loans in the principal amount of up to $1,700,000 (the “July 2023 Loan”), in the principal amount of up to $500,000 (the “November 2023 Loan”) and in the principal amount of up to $1,250,000 (the “Second November 2023 Loan”, collectively, together with the March 2023 Loan, the July 2023 Loan, and the November 2023 Loan, the “Loans”) with an affiliate of the sponsor to provide the Company with additional working capital and to fund monthly contributions into the trust account until the earlier of a completion of a business combination or the Extended Date. The July 2023 Loan, the November 2023 Loan and the Second November 2023 Loan bear no interest and shall be due and payable on the earlier of (i) the date on which the Company consummates a business combination or (ii) the date of that the winding up of the Company is effective. If the Company does not consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date, the July 2023 Loan, the November 2023 Loan and the Second November 2023 Loan will be repaid only from funds held outside of the trust account or will be forfeited, eliminated or otherwise forgiven. If at any time the board of directors determines that the Company will not be able to consummate an initial business combination by the Extended Date and that the Company shall instead liquidate, the sponsor’s obligation to continue to make contributions shall cease immediately upon such determination.
As of April 8, 2024, the Loans amounted to a total principal amount of $5,450,000, and the Company had made thirteen Extension Contribution payments to the trust account. In addition, as of April 8, 2024, a total of approximately $129.7 million was held in the trust account.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor may, but is not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a business combination, the Company may repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to the Company. 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. At the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The terms of the warrants would be identical to the terms of the private placement warrants. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had no outstanding borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
The Company’s majority owner is the sponsor. OpSec’s majority owner is ITSF. The sponsor and ITSF are both affiliates of Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.(c), which ultimately owns both the sponsor and ITSF. Because the Company and ITSF are ultimately controlled by the same entity, Investcorp Holdings B.S.C.(c), the business combination and related transactions are related-party transactions for the Company.
Related Party Policy
The audit committee of our board of directors adopted a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) the lesser of $120,000 or 1% of the average of the company’s total assets at year-end for the prior two completed fiscal years in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy includes: (i) our directors, nominees for director or officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee considers (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management presents to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy does not permit any director or officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related person transaction in which he or she is the related party.
72
| Item 14. | Principal Accountant Fees and Services. |
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP (“Marcum”) for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2023 totaled $243,186. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Marcum for audit related fees for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Tax Fees. We did not pay Marcum for tax fees for the year ended December 31, 2023.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Marcum for other services for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our IPO. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
73
PART IV
| Item 15. | Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. |
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this annual report on Form 10-K: |
| 1. | Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” at page F-1. |
| (b) | Financial Statement Schedules. All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable. |
| (c) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the accompanying index to exhibits are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this annual report on Form 10-K. |
74
75
| Item 16. | Form 10–K Summary. |
Not applicable.
| * | Filed herewith |
76
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in New York City, New York, on this 11th day of April, 2024.
| INVESTCORP EUROPE ACQUISITION CORP I | ||
| By: | /s/ Craig Sinfield-Hain | |
| Name: Craig Sinfield-Hain | ||
| Title: Chief Financial Officer | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:
| Name |
Position |
Date | ||
| /s/ Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith |
Chief Executive Officer | April 11, 2024 | ||
| /s/ Craig Sinfield-Hain Craig Sinfield-Hain |
Chief Financial Officer | April 11, 2024 | ||
| /s/ Hazem Ben-Gacem Hazem Ben-Gacem |
Chairman | April 11, 2024 | ||
| /s/ Peter McKellar Peter McKellar |
Vice-Chairman | April 11, 2024 | ||
| /s/ Pamela Jackson Pamela Jackson |
Director | April 11, 2024 | ||
| /s/ Laurence Ponchaut Laurence Ponchaut |
Director | April 11, 2024 | ||
| /s/ Adah Almutairi Adah Almutairi |
Director | April 11, 2024 | ||
F-2 |
||||
Financial Statements: |
||||
F-3 |
||||
F-4 |
||||
F-5 |
||||
F-7 |
||||
F-8 |
As of December 31, 2023 |
As of December 31, 2022 |
|||||||
| Assets |
||||||||
| Current Assets |
||||||||
| Cash |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses |
||||||||
| Interest receivable |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total Current Assets |
||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Assets |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Liabilities, Shares Subject to Redemption and Shareholders’ Deficit |
||||||||
| Current Liabilities |
||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Note Payable to Sponsor |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Current Liabilities |
||||||||
| Warrant liabilities |
||||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Liabilities |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Commitments and Contingencies |
||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, $ December 31, 2022, respectively |
||||||||
| Shareholders’ Deficit |
||||||||
| Preference shares, $ outstanding at December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 |
||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $ authorized, de mpti on, respectivel y) |
||||||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $ |
||||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
( |
) |
( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Shareholders’ Deficit |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total Liabilities, Shares Subject to Redemption and Shareholders’ Deficit |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
For the Year ended December 31, 2023 |
For the Year ended December 31, 2022 |
|||||||
Formation and operating costs |
||||||||
Loss from Operations |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
Other income (expense) |
||||||||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
( |
) | ||||||
Interest earned on Investments held in Trust Account |
||||||||
Gain (loss) on foreign exchange |
( |
) | ||||||
Total other income |
||||||||
Net Income (Loss) |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ||||
Basic and diluted weighted average redeemable Class A ordinary shares outstanding |
||||||||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per redeemable Class A ordinary share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ||||
Basic and diluted weighted average non-redeemable ordinary shares outstanding |
||||||||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per non-redeemable ordinary share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ||||
Ordinary Shares |
Additional paid-in capital |
Accumulated deficit |
Total Shareholders’ Deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A |
Class B |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2022 |
— | — | $ |
— | $ |
( |
) | $ |
( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Extension Contribution |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Remeasurement of redeemable shares to redemption value |
— | — | — | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion of Sponsor shares |
( |
) | ( |
) | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2023 |
$ |
$ |
— |
— |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Ordinary Shares |
Additional paid-in capital |
Accumulated deficit |
Total Shareholder’s Deficit |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A |
Class B |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2021 |
— | — | $ |
— | $ |
( |
) | $ |
( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||
| True up for over-accrual of offering costs |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Remeasurement of redeemable shares to redemption value |
— | — | — | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net income |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance - December 31, 2022 |
— |
— |
$ |
— |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
For the Year ended December 31, 2023 |
For the Year ended December 31, 2022 |
|||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
||||||||
| Net income (loss) |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash (used in) provided by operating activities: |
||||||||
| Interest earned on Investments held in Trust Account |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
( |
) | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||
| Prepaid and other |
||||||||
| Interest receivable |
( |
) | ||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
( |
) | ||||||
| Accrued offering expenses |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||||||
| Extension Contributions |
( |
) | ||||||
| Withdrawal from Trust Account for Redemptions |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash provided by investing activities |
||||||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||||||
| Proceeds from affiliate promissory note |
||||||||
| Redemptions |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash used in financing activities |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ||||
| Net change in cash |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| Cash at beginning of period |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Cash at end of period |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: |
||||||||
| Remeasurement of ordinary shares to redemption value |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
For the Year ended |
For the Year ended |
|||||||||||||||
December 31, 2023 |
December 31, 2022 |
|||||||||||||||
Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares |
Non-Redeemable Ordinary Shares |
Redeemable Class A Ordinary Shares |
Non-Redeemable Ordinary Shares |
|||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share: |
||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: |
||||||||||||||||
| Allocation of net income (loss) |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | |
$ | |
||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Denominator: |
||||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average shares outstanding |
||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | $ | ||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
December 31, 2023 |
December 31, 2022 |
|||||||
| As of beginning of the period, January 1 |
$ | $ | |
|||||
| Less: |
||||||||
| Redemptions as a result of Special Shareholder Meeting |
( |
) | ||||||
| Plus: |
||||||||
| Extension Contribution |
||||||||
| Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | $ | ||||||
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $ |
| • | upon not less than |
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $ |
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $ |
| • | upon a minimum of |
| • | if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “—Redemption of Warrants when the price per Class A Ordinary Share equals or exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $ sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like); and |
| • | if the Reference Value is less than $ 18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), the Private Placement Warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above. |
As of December 31, 2023 |
(Level 1) |
(Level 2) |
(Level 3) |
|||||||||
| Assets |
||||||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| Liabilities |
||||||||||||
| |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| Private Placement Warrants |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| Total |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
As of December 31, 2022 |
(Level 1) |
(Level 2) |
(Level 3) |
|||||||||
| Assets |
||||||||||||
| Investments held in Trust Account |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| Liabilities |
||||||||||||
| |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| Private Placement Warrants |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| Total |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||
Fair Value as of December 31, 2023 |
Fair Value as of December 31, 2022 |
|||||||
| Cash |
$ | |||||||
| Money Market Mutual Fund |
$ | |||||||
Private Warrant Liability |
||||
| Fair Value as of December 31, 2022 |
$ | |||
| in fair value |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Fair Value as of December 31, 2023 |
$ | |
||
| Input |
12/31/2023 |
12/31/2022 |
||||||
| Share price |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Exercise price |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Risk-free rate of interest |
% | % | ||||||
| Volatility |
% | % | ||||||
| Term (in years) |
||||||||
| Dividend yield |
% | % | ||||||
| • | |
| • | |