Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business
References in this Form
10-K to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refer to Centurion Acquisition Corp. References
to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors.
Introduction
We are a blank check company
incorporated on January 18, 2024 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition,
share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We
have 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering (“IPO” or “Initial Public Offering”), or until
such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”) to complete our initial Business
Combination.
We have reviewed, and continue
to review, a number of opportunities to enter into a Business Combination, but we are not able to determine at this time whether we will
complete a Business Combination with any of the target businesses that we have reviewed or with any other target business. We may pursue
an acquisition opportunity in any industry, sector or geographic location. We also 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 Exchange Act
of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
The registration statement
for our IPO was declared effective on June 10, 2024. On June 12, 2024, we consummated the IPO of 28,750,000 units (the “Units”
and, with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares” or “Class
A Ordinary Shares”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,750,000
Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $287,500,000. Each Unit consists of one Class A Ordinary Share
and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (the “Public Warrants”), with each whole warrant entitling
the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share at $11.50 per share.
Simultaneously with the closing
of our IPO, we consummated the sale of an aggregate of 7,000,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price
of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, in a private placement to the Company’s Sponsor, Centurion Sponsor LP, a Cayman Islands
exempted limited partnership (the “Sponsor”), and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) and Odeon Capital Group,
LLC (“Odeon”), the representatives of the underwriters of the IPO, generating gross proceeds of $7,000,000. Of those 7,000,000
Private Placement Warrants, the Sponsor purchased 4,500,000 Private Placement Warrants, Cantor purchased 1,750,000 Private Placement Warrants
and Odeon purchased 750,000 Private Placement Warrants.
Prior to the consummation
of the IPO, on January 23, 2024, our Sponsor made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain
expenses on our behalf in exchange for issuance of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”). On April 29,
2024, the Company affected a share capitalization of 1,437,500 Founder Shares, resulting in our Sponsor holding 7,187,500 Founder Shares.
The number of Founder Shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such Founder Shares would represent 20% of the outstanding
shares after the IPO.
Following the closing of the
IPO, on June 12, 2024, an amount of $287,500,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public
Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in the Trust Account (the “Trust Account”) and will be
held as cash or invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting
certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations.
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if
any, the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the Trust
Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or an earlier redemption in connection
with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial Business Combination if the Company determines it is desirable to facilitate
the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company is unable
to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or by such earlier liquidation
date as the Company’s board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”), subject to applicable law, or (iii)
the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s
amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to
allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company
has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions
relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could
become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s
Public Shareholders. To mitigate the risk that might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act,
which risk increases the longer that the Company holds investments in the Trust Account, the Company may, at any time in its own discretion,
instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in an interest
bearing bank demand deposit account.
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Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
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 held in the Trust Account, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial Business Combination (including
pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), 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.
We may need to obtain additional
financing to complete our initial Business Combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds
held in our Trust Account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of the Business
Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no
prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial Business Combination. We are not currently
a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities,
the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Business Strategy
The digital technology industry
is highly fragmented with hundreds of companies developing innovate and potentially disruptive technologies and services. Continued tailwinds
should fuel this growth. We anticipate cybersecurity concerns, the rise of, and growing use case for, artificial intelligence (“AI”),
the development of deep learning, and the launch of innovative new technology businesses and other emerging technologies, to foster the
continued growth of numerous new companies, many of which are privately owned. As such, we believe that this universe of companies presents
a vast array of potential compelling business combination opportunities for us.
We plan to seek to leverage
our team’s skills and extensive industry experience to add significant value to the target company through our operating expertise
and focus on organic growth initiatives, as well as potential add-on acquisitions.
Some of the core “pillars”
of our strategy, which are based in large part on our team’s extensive prior experience, include:
● IP-centric investment philosophy . Our
management team has a proven track record of building and nurturing IP to create enduring businesses across multiple industry segments;
● Operational excellence . Our management team
has proven experience driving improved operational performance, as evidenced by their success running Jagex and significant experiences
in key roles at other companies;
● Technology innovation . Our management team
has been at the forefront of disruption and innovation throughout their careers, such as identifying and implementing novel monetization
models in interactive entertainment, through to numerous patents ranging from robotics and IoT patents, recommender engines, through
to social-selling platforms; and
● Financial discipline . Our management team has
a proven ability to drive top line growth while maintaining profitability, resulting in significant valuation uplift.
We plan to engage with our
extensive network of industry relationships, which includes numerous private companies and entrepreneurs, private equity firms, venture
capitalists and private investors, to articulate the parameters of our search for a target company and a potential business combination
and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing potential opportunities.
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Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial
Business Combination
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 value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the amount of any deferred
underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement
in connection with our initial Business Combination. 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 which is a member of FINRA 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, including if such company is at an early
stage of development, operations or growth, or if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized
skills and the board of directors determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. As any
such opinion, if obtained, would only state that the fair market value meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes
material information regarding the valuation of the target or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such
opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required by Schedule 14A of the Exchange Act, any proxy solicitation
materials or tender offer documents that we will file with the SEC in connection with our initial Business Combination will include such
opinion.
We anticipate structuring
our initial Business Combination so that the post transaction company in which our Public Shareholders own shares will own or acquire
100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial Business Combination
such that the post transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to
meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination
if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires
a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company
Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of
the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the
post transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue
a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other
equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance
of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial Business Combination could own less than a majority
of our 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.
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We expect to seek to identify
companies that have compelling growth potential and a combination of the following characteristics. We expect to 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 intend to acquire companies or assets that we believe have the following attributes:
● are in the digital technology segments where we can utilize
our management team’s expertise and network of industry contacts to add value;
● possess and/or leverages a robust and differentiated intellectual
property and a scalable platform with long-term growth potential;
● possess and/or utilize innovative and disruptive technology;
● participate in a large addressable market with highly engaged
customers;
● generate stable revenue and cash flows and are profitable
or have a clear path to profitability;
● are managed by experienced leadership teams with the ability
and desire to oversee a larger organization;
● have an established entrepreneurial culture of disruption,
adaptability to changing sector dynamics and growth;
● have alignment of long-term vision and target shareholder
willingness to retain meaningful equity post-business combination;
● offer the potential to serve as a platform for future synergistic
M&A roll-up activity; and
● possess identifiable valuation upside for all stakeholders.
These criteria are not intended
to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial Business Combination may be based, to the extent relevant,
on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. 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 would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
In evaluating a prospective
target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent
management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will
be made available to us. We also plan to utilize our operational and capital planning experience.
The time required to select
and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial Business Combination, and the costs associated with this process,
are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of
a prospective target business with which our initial Business Combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses
and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
We are not prohibited from
pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors, or completing the
business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we
seek to complete an initial Business Combination with a target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee
of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or a valuation
or appraisal firm that such an initial Business Combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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Members of our management
team and our independent directors directly or indirectly own Founder Shares and 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 low price that our Sponsor, executive officers and directors (directly or indirectly) paid for the Founder Shares
creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we select an acquisition target
that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for Public Shareholders. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination
within the Completion Window, the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants may expire worthless, except to the extent they receive
liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account, which could create an incentive for our Sponsor, executive officers and
directors to complete a transaction even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for
Public Shareholders. 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 officers and directors
presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which
such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our
officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then
current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business
combination opportunity to such other entity, 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.
In addition, our Sponsor and
our officers and directors may Sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business
or investment ventures 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. However, we do not believe that such duties
or obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of
our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our Public
Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of our initial Business Combination
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. Each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against
the initial Business Combination, or whether they do not vote or abstain from voting on the initial Business Combination, or whether they
were a shareholder on the record date for the shareholder meeting held to approve the initial Business Combination. 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 are 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 a special resolution, which requires the affirmative
vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy
and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.
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If we provide our Public Shareholders
with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in connection with a general 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 the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which
requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented
by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders
of one-third 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 and any Public Shares purchased during or after our Initial Public Offering (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. Assuming
that only one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum
and articles of association, are voted, we will not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an
initial Business Combination in order to have an initial Business Combination approved. 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, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the
shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of
the company. 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.
If a shareholder vote is not
required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will:
● 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.
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We intend to 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.
We will provide our Public
Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial Business Combination,
all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of our initial Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash,
equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the
initial Business Combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued
and outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the Trust Account is initially
anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will
not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement
that any beneficial owner on whose behalf a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares.
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 or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the consummation of the initial Business Combination if we
determine it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial Business Combination.
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 exceed 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, including pursuant to forward purchase
agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, in order to, among other
reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
If we seek shareholder approval
of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to
the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or Public
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 or duty to do so. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share
a Public Shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial Business Combination. Such a purchase
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.
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In the event that our Sponsor,
initial shareholders, 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.
The purpose of any such purchases
of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining
shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) 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 warrantholders 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, advisors or any of their affiliates will select
which shareholders to purchase shares from based on a negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant,
and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities
laws. 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.
Our Sponsor, initial shareholders,
directors, officers and their affiliates will be restricted from making 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. Additionally, in the event our Sponsor,
initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders, such
purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent
part, through adherence to the following:
● our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our
business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and their
affiliates may purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of
such purchases;
● if our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers
and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than
the price offered through our redemption process;
● our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our
business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our Sponsor, initial shareholders,
directors, officers and their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction;
● our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and
their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption
rights, they would waive such rights; and
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● we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security
holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items:
● the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption
offer by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates, along with the purchase price;
● the purpose of the purchases by our Sponsor, initial shareholders,
directors, officers and their affiliates;
● the impact, if any, of the purchases by our Sponsor, initial
shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved;
● the identities of our security holders who sold to our Sponsor,
initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders
(e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates; and
● the number of our securities for which we have received redemption
requests pursuant to our redemption offer.
Please see “ Item
1A. Risk Factors — If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, initial shareholders,
directors, officers 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 or Public Warrants. ”
Notwithstanding the foregoing,
if we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business
Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a Public
Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as
a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with
respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.”
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 Public Shares 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 Public Shares, 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.
Redemption of Public Shares if No Initial
Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum
and articles of association provide that we will have only the duration of the Completion Window to complete our initial Business Combination.
If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, we will as promptly as reasonably possible
but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the
aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000
of interest to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will constitute
full and complete payment for the Public Shares and completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including
the right to receive further liquidation or other distributions, if any) subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide
for claims of creditors and subject to the other requirements of applicable law.
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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 Completion
Window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account. However, if our Sponsor or
management team acquire Public Shares in or after our Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from
the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares, and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account, if we fail
to complete our initial Business Combination within the allotted Completion Window.
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 Completion
Window 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 Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment
at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which
interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares.
We expect that all costs and
expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining
out of the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the Trust Account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient
funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan
of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the Trust Account not required to pay 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 Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the
Trust Account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the Trust Account, the per-share redemption amount received
by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could, however, become
subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our Public Shareholders. We cannot assure you
that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. 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. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and
the underwriters of our Initial Public Offering 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 (except for the company’s independent auditors), 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) $10.00 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 $10.00 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 Initial Public Offering
against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such
indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations
and 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 $10.00 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.
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In the event that the proceeds
in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 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 $10.00 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 $10.00 per share.
We will seek to reduce the
possibility that our Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service
providers, 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 Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.
We will have access to up to approximately $1,000,000 from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering with which to pay any such potential
claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately
$100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient,
shareholders who received funds from our Trust Account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
If we file a bankruptcy or
winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds
held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency 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 $10.00 per share to our Public Shareholders. Additionally, if we file
a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed,
any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either
a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency 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 Completion Window, (ii) 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 Completion Window 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.
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating
and selecting a target business for our initial Business Combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business
objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public
companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience
identifying and effecting Business Combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or
greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our
available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore,
our obligation to pay cash in connection with our Public Shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available
to us for our initial Business Combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be
viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating
an initial Business Combination.
Employees
We currently have three officers:
Mark Gerhard, Riaan Hodgson and David Gomberg. 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 will 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 do not intend to have any full time employees prior
to the completion of our initial Business Combination.
Available Information
We are required to file Annual
Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material
events (e.g., changes in corporate control, acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary
course of business and bankruptcy) in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy
and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website
is located at http://www.sec.gov . In addition, we will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in
writing at 667 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, New York 10065 or by telephone at (212) 209-6126.
Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting
Company
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.
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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 $1.235 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 are held by non-affiliates 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 securities
during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller
reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain
reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will
remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held
by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues equaled to
or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is
equal to or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th.
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.