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,
amalgamation, 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. Please see “ Item. 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management
and Related Shareholder Matters ” for more information on the number of Founder Shares our Sponsor and our other initial shareholders
hold.
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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.
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.
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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.
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. 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.
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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.
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.
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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
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 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, 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;
8
● 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
● 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.
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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.
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.
10
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.
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.
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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.
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.
12
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.
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.