10-K
1
f10k2020_apextechnology.htm
ANNUAL REPORT
UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Form
10-K
☒
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020
☐
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from to
Commission
file number: 001-39048
Apex
Technology Acquisition Corporation
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware
83-4461709
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
533
Airport Blvd
Suite 400
Burlingame, CA 94010
94010
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (619) 736-6855
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title
of Each Class
Trading
Symbol(s)
Name
of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Class
A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share
APXT
The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Redeemable
Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for one share of Class A Common Stock at an exercise price of $11.50
APXTW
The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Units,
each consisting of one share of Class A Common Stock and one-half of one Redeemable Warrant
APXTU
The
Nasdaq Stock Market LLC
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes
☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.
Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such
reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant
to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that
the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting
company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,”
“smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated
filer ☐
Accelerated
filer ☐
Non-accelerated
filer ☒
Smaller
reporting company ☒
Emerging
growth company ☒
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for
complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).
Yes
☒ No ☐
The
aggregate market value of the Class A common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates
of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the Class A common stock on June 30, 2020, as reported
on the Nasdaq Capital Market, was approximately $358,400,000.
As
of March 8, 2021, there were 35,810,000 shares of Class A common stock and 8,750,000 shares of Class B common stock of the registrant
issued and outstanding.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PART
I
Item
1.
Business
1
Item
1A.
Risk
Factors
17
Item
1B.
Unresolved
Staff Comments
41
Item
2.
Properties
41
Item
3.
Legal
Proceedings
41
Item
4.
Mine
Safety Disclosures
41
PART
II
Item
5.
Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
42
Item
6.
Selected
Financial Data
42
Item
7.
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
42
Item
7A.
Quantitative
and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
47
Item
8.
Financial
Statements and Supplementary Data
47
Item
9.
Changes
in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
47
Item
9A.
Controls
and Procedures
47
Item
9B.
Other
Information
48
PART
III
Item
10.
Directors,
Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
49
Item
11.
Executive
Compensation
52
Item
12.
Security
Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
53
Item
13.
Certain
Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
54
Item
14.
Principal
Accounting Fees and Services
56
PART
IV
Item
15.
Exhibits
and Financial Statement Schedules
57
Item
16.
Form
10-K Summary
57
i
CAUTIONARY
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”), including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act (as defined below) and Section 21E of the Exchange Act (as defined below). These
forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the words “believes,”
“estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “may,”
“will,” “potential,” “projects,” “predicts,” “continue,” or “should,”
or, in each case, their negative or other variations or comparable terminology. There can be no assurance that actual results
will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our
ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current
or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results may differ materially
due to various factors, including, but not limited to:
______
our ability to complete
our initial business combination, including the AvePoint Business Combination (as defined below);
______
our success in retaining
or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
______
our officers and
directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving
our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements;
______
our potential ability
to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
______
our pool of prospective
target businesses;
______
failure to maintain
the listing on, or the delisting of our securities from, Nasdaq or an inability to have our securities listed on Nasdaq or
another national securities exchange following our initial business combination;
______
the ability of our
officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities;
______
our public securities’
potential liquidity and trading;
______
the lack of a market
for our securities;
______
the use of proceeds
not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or
______
our financial performance.
The
forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments
and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us may not be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and other assumptions that may cause
actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.”
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results
may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or
revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required
under applicable securities laws. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.
By
their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances
that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate
may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Report. In addition,
even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are
consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Report, those results or developments may not be indicative of
results or developments in subsequent periods.
ii
Unless
otherwise stated in this Report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
______
“AvePoint”
are to AvePoint, Inc. a Delaware corporation;
______
“AvePoint
Business Combination” are to the transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement (as defined below);
______
“AvePoint
Registration Statement” are to the Form S-4 filed with the SEC (as defined below) on
February 4, 2021, as amended;
______
“Board of
Directors” or “Board” are to the board of directors of the Company;
______
“Business
Combination Agreement,” are to the Business Combination Agreement, dated as of November 23, 2020, as it may be amended,
by and among the Company, AvePoint, and the other parties thereto;
______
“Cantor”
are to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters in our initial public offering (as defined below);
______
“common stock”
are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively;
______
“Continental”
are to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, trustee of our trust account (as defined below and warrant agent of
our public warrants (as defined below);
______
“Exchange
Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended;
______
“DGCL”
are to the Delaware General Corporation Law;
______
“founder shares”
are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public
offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as described herein;
______
“GAAP”
are to the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America;
______
“IFRS”
are to the International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board;
______
“initial public
offering” are to that was consummated by the Company on September 19, 2019;
______
“initial stockholders”
are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares (or their permitted transferees);
______
“Investment
Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended;
______
“JOBS Act”
are to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012;
______
“letter agreement”
are to a letter agreement that our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into with us as of September 16, 2019;
______
“management”
or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;
______
“Merger Sub
1” are to Athena Technology Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation;
______
“Merger Sub
2” are to Athena Technology Merger Sub 2, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
______
“Merger Subs”
are to Merger Sub 1 and Merger Sub 2;
______
“PCOAB”
are to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States);
iii
______
“placement
units” are to the units sold to our sponsor and Cantor, each placement unit consisting of one placement share and one-half
of one placement warrant;
______
“placement
shares” are to the shares of our common stock included within the placement units sold to our sponsor and Cantor in
the private placement;
______
“placement
warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial
public offering;
______
“public shares”
are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units (as defined below) in our initial public offering (whether
they were purchased in such offering or thereafter in the open market);
______
“public stockholders”
are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial
stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s
and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such
public shares;
______
“public warrants”
are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our
initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion
of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors
(or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination;
______
“Registration
Statement” are to the Form S-1 filed with the SEC (as defined below) on August 15, 2019, as amended;
______
“SEC”
are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission;
______
“Securities
Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended;
______
“sponsor”
are to Apex Technology Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company;
______
“trust account”
are to the trust account in which an amount of $350,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the units
and placement units in the initial public offering was placed following the closing of the initial public offering.
______
“units”
are to the units sold in our initial public offering, which consist of one public share and one-half of one public warrant;
______
“warrants”
are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the placement warrants to the extent they are
no longer held by the initial purchasers of the placement warrants or their permitted transferees;
______
“we,”
“us,” “Apex”, “Company” or “our Company” are to Apex Technology Acquisition
Corporation; and
______
“Withum”
are to WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm.
iv
RISK
FACTORS SUMMARY
The
following is a summary of risks, uncertainties and other factors related to our Company. You should carefully consider all of
the risk factors presented in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and all other information contained in this Report including
the financial statements.
●
we are a blank check
Company with no revenue or basis to evaluate our ability to select a suitable business target;
●
we may not be able
to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination in the prescribed time
frame;
●
our expectations
around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses may not be realized;
●
we may not be successful
in retaining or recruiting required officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
●
our officers and
directors may have difficulties allocating their time between the Company and other businesses and may potentially have conflicts
of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination;
●
we may not be able
to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or reduce the number of shareholders requesting
redemption;
●
we may issue our
shares to investors in connection with our initial business combination at a price that is less than the prevailing market
price of our shares at that time;
●
you may not be given
the opportunity to choose the initial business target or to vote on the initial business combination;
●
trust account funds
may not be protected against third party claims or bankruptcy;
●
an active market
for our public securities’ may not develop and you will have limited liquidity and trading;
●
the availability
to us of funds from interest income on the trust account balance may be insufficient to operate our business prior to the
business combination; and
●
our financial performance
following a business combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack an established record of revenue,
cash flows and experienced management.
For
risks relating to AvePoint and the AvePoint Business Combination, please see the AvePoint Registration Statement.
v
PART
I
Item
1. Business
Overview
We
are a blank check company formed on April 5, 2019 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital
stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses.
Throughout this Report we will refer to this as our “initial business combination.” While our efforts to identify
a target business have spanned many industries and regions worldwide, we have focused our search for prospects within the software
and internet technology industries. Our ability to locate a potential target is and has been subject to the uncertainties discussed
elsewhere in this Report.
Initial
Public Offering
On
September 19, 2019, the Company consummated the initial public offering of 35,000,000 units. In addition to one share of our public
shares, each unit also consists of one-half of one public warrant. Each whole public warrant entitles the holder to purchase one
share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The units were sold at an offering price
of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $350,000,000. The Company had granted Cantor, the representative of the several
underwriters in the initial public offering, a 45-day option to purchase up to 4,575,000 additional units to cover over-allotments.
On September 19, 2019, Cantor partially exercised the option and purchased an additional 4,500,000 units at $10.00 per unit and
forfeited the option to exercise the remaining 75,000 units.
Simultaneously
with the closing of the initial public offering, the Company consummated the sale of 810,000 placement units at a price of $10.00
per placement unit in a private placement to the sponsor and Cantor, generating gross proceeds of $8,100,000. The sponsor purchased
657,500 placement units and Cantor purchased 152,500 placement units. Each placement unit consists of one placement share and
one-half of one placement warrant. Each whole placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one public share at a price of $11.50
per share. The proceeds from the placement units were added to the proceeds from the initial public offering held in the trust
account.
A
total of $350,000,000 from the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the initial public offering and the sale of the placement
units was placed in the trust account.
Our
units, public shares and public warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “APXTU,” “APXT”
and “APXTW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on September 17, 2019, and our public shares and public
warrants commenced separate public trading on November 5, 2019.
AvePoint
Business Combination
On
November 23, 2020, we entered into the Business Combination Agreement with the Merger Subs and AvePoint, pursuant to which Merger
Sub 1 will be merged with and into AvePoint (the “First Merger”), with AvePoint surviving the First Merger as a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Company, and promptly following the First Merger, AvePoint will be merged with and into Merger Sub 2 (the “Second
Merger,” together with the First Merger, the “Mergers”, and together with the other transactions related thereto,
the “Proposed Transactions”), with Merger Sub 2 surviving the Second Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company
(“Surviving Company”).
Upon the consummation
of the Mergers, the aggregate consideration to be paid to AvePoint equityholders will be (i) an amount in cash of approximately
$262 million (the “Aggregate Cash Consideration”) and (ii) 143,261,093 shares of our public shares (such aggregate
amount, the “Aggregate Stock Consideration”). The Aggregate Cash Consideration may be subject to downward adjustment
based on the Cash Election (as defined below) and any cutback due to redemptions by stockholders of Apex and any such adjustment
shall be offset by an equivalent increase in the Aggregate Stock Consideration based on a value of $10.00 per public share. AvePoint’s
stockholders who hold shares of Series C Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 (“AvePoint Preferred Stock”) and certain
named executives (the “Named Executives”) will receive an aggregate amount of $135 million and $35 million in cash,
(subject to deduction for certain expenses) respectively, from the Aggregate Cash Consideration and will receive the balance of
their consideration in public shares from the Aggregate Stock Consideration. All holders of shares of common stock of AvePoint,
par value $0.001 per share (“AvePoint Common Stock”) other than the Named Executives will receive an aggregate amount
of between $75 million and approximately $92 million in cash (subject to deduction for certain expenses) based on an election (“Cash
Election”) from the balance of the Aggregate Cash Consideration and will receive the remainder of their consideration in
public shares from the Aggregate Stock Consideration. Each outstanding option to purchase AvePoint Common Stock (“AvePoint
Options”) other than certain options held by the Named Executives will be converted into or replaced with an option to purchase
public shares from the Aggregate Stock Consideration based on the exchange ratio set forth in the Business Combination Agreement.
The holders of AvePoint Preferred Stock, AvePoint Common Stock and AvePoint Options may be entitled to receive up to an additional
3,000,000 public shares contingent upon the achievement of certain milestones set forth in the Business Combination Agreement (the
“Contingent Consideration”).
1
The
obligations of AvePoint and Apex to consummate the Proposed Transactions, including the Mergers, are subject to the satisfaction
or waiver (where permissible) at or prior to the Closing (as defined below) of various conditions, including, among other things:
(i) the accuracy of the representations and warranties of Apex and AvePoint, respectively; (ii) the performance by Apex and AvePoint,
respectively, of its covenants and agreements; (iii) the absence of any material adverse effect that is continuing with respect
to Apex or AvePoint, respectively, between the date of the Business Combination Agreement and the date of the Closing, (iv) the
approval of AvePoint’s and Apex’s stockholders; (v) the effectiveness of the AvePoint Registration Statement and the
submission by Apex of the supplemental listing application to the Nasdaq Stock Market; (vi) the receipt of requisite government
approvals, including approval related to the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended; (vii) the consummation
by Apex of the Private Placements (as defined below); (viii) Apex having at least $5,000,001 of net tangible assets following
the exercise of redemption rights provided in accordance with the organizational documents of Apex; and (ix) as a condition to
AvePoint’s obligations, the total cash and cash equivalents of Apex at the Effective Time, after giving effect to the Merger
and the Private Placements, being no less than $300 million.
Simultaneously
with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on November 23, 2020, the Named Executives entered into the Named Executive
Equity Agreements (the “Named Executive Equity Agreements”) pursuant to which the Named Executives will contribute
shares of AvePoint Common Stock to Apex immediately prior to the Effective Time in exchange for a portion of the Aggregate Cash
Consideration.
In
connection with the closing of the AvePoint Business Combination (the “Closing”), certain key stockholders of AvePoint
(the “Key AvePoint Stockholders”) will enter into agreements (the “Lock-Up Agreements”) providing that
they will not, subject to certain exceptions, sell or transfer any public shares or securities convertible into or exercisable
for public shares held by them immediately after the effective time of the First Merger (the “Effective Time”) until
180 days after the Closing (the “Lock-Up Period”).
Simultaneously
with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on November 23, 2020, each of the sponsor, Jeff Epstein and Brad Koenig
entered into the Insider Letter Agreement (the “Insider Letter Agreement”) providing that such parties will not, subject
to certain exceptions, sell or transfer certain public shares held by the Sponsor on behalf of Jeff Epstein and Brad Koenig immediately
prior to the Effective Time (“Apex Founder Lock-Up Shares”) until 12 months after the Closing and will not sell or
transfer 50% of the Apex Founder Lock-Up Shares until 24 months after the Closing.
Simultaneously
with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on November 23, 2020, the Key AvePoint Stockholders entered into the
Stockholder Support Agreement (the “Stockholder Support Agreement”) pursuant to which the Key AvePoint Stockholders
agreed to vote all of their shares of AvePoint Common Stock and AvePoint Preferred Stock in favor of the approval and adoption
of the Business Combination Agreement and the Proposed Transactions.
Simultaneously
with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on November 23, 2020, the sponsor entered into the Sponsor Support Agreement
(the “Sponsor Support Agreement”) pursuant to which the sponsor agreed to vote all of public shares in favor of the
approval of the Business Combination Agreement and the Proposed Transactions and certain other proposals for approval by the stockholders
of Apex as set forth in the Business Combination Agreement.
Pursuant
to the Sponsor Support Agreement, the sponsor agreed to deposit 2,916,700 public shares (“Sponsor Earn-Out Shares”)
into escrow and that such shares will be subject to the vesting upon the occurrence, any time prior to or as of the seventh anniversary
of the Closing, of either: (i), the closing price of public shares is greater than or equal to $15.00 (as adjusted for share splits,
share capitalization, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) over any 20 trading days within any 30 trading day period;
or (ii) Apex consummates a change of control transaction.
Simultaneously
with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement on November 23, 2020, Apex entered into separate subscription agreements
(collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”) with a number of investors (collectively, the “PIPE Investors”),
pursuant to which the PIPE Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 14,000,000 public shares (the “PIPE Shares”),
at a purchase price of $10.00 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $140,000,000, in one or more private placement transactions
(the “Private Placements”). The closing of the Private Placements pursuant to the Subscription Agreements is contingent
upon, among other customary closing conditions, the concurrent consummation of the Proposed Transactions. The purpose of the Private
Placements is to raise additional capital for use by the combined company following the Closing.
In
connection with the Closing, that certain registration rights agreement dated September 16, 2019 will be amended and restated
and Apex, certain persons and entities holding securities of Apex prior to the Closing (the “Initial Holders”) and
certain persons and entities receiving public shares pursuant to the AvePoint Business Combination (the “New Holders”
and together with the Initial Holders, the “Reg Rights Holders”) shall enter into an amended and restated registration
rights agreement at the Closing (the “Registration Rights Agreement”). Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement,
Apex will agree that, within 15 business days after the Closing, Apex will file with the SEC (at Apex’s sole cost and expense)
a registration statement registering the resale of certain securities held by or issuable to the Reg Rights Holders (the “Resale
Registration Statement”), and Apex shall use reasonable best efforts to have the Resale Registration Statement declared
effective as soon as practicable after the filing thereof. In certain circumstances, the New Holders can demand up to two underwritten
offerings, and all of the Reg Rights Holders will be entitled to piggyback registration rights.
Other
than as specifically discussed, this Report does not assume the closing of the AvePoint Business Combination.
2
Our
Mission
Our
purpose is to complete a business combination with a leading software or internet company, like AvePoint, that is valued between
$650 million and $2 billion. We seek to effectively employ our management team’s industry skills and experience as well
as their extensive personal network to add substantial value to any acquired company. These benefits include the following:
______
Expertise in
growing successful software and internet companies : Our management team has demonstrated consistent prowess in building,
investing, nurturing and leading software and internet companies. We believe they can spot unique ideas or disruptive business
models and grow them from local sensation to global ubiquity. We believe we can also recruit top talent and use that intellectual
capital to great competitive advantage;
______
Ability to mentor
and support exceptional executives : Our Co-Chief Executive Officers, directors and advisors have served on more than 30
public and 100 private boards of directors in North America, Europe and Asia, both within and outside the software and internet
sectors. They have overseen more than 200 acquisitions, taken companies public, thrived amid complex governance dilemmas and
enhanced their companies’ global growth; and
______
Maximizing the
value of becoming a publicly traded entity : As a public entity, we believe we offer a wide range of advantages to stakeholders.
These include but are not limited to: working with management and shareholders who aspire to have their company become a public
entity and generate substantial wealth creation; transitioning from a private to a public entity may include broader access
to debt and equity providers; provision of liquidity for employees and potential acquisitions; and expansion of branding in
the marketplace.
Acquisition
Criteria
Our
intent has been to seek potential target companies globally. We have used a broad and global network of professional contacts
that has been developed by our management team and advisors over many years. This network encompasses private equity firms, venture
capitalists and entrepreneurs.
The
maturity and judgment skills accumulated by our management team and advisors has guided our acquisition process. When candidate
companies are being evaluated, we use the following, non-exclusive criteria listed below for determining opportunities.
______
Size : We
have targeted entities whose enterprise value is between $650 million and $2 billion. These companies have an international
following, and we believe offer long-term risk-adjusted return potential;
______
Focus : The
software industry and internet sector are domains in which we have an accomplished track record and “pattern recognition”
knowledge. Our management team and advisors’ multifaceted expertise in assessing a target’s technology and their
potential for disruption have been key in evaluating business transaction candidates swiftly and adequately;
______
Management’s
maturity : We have sought companies with proven and accomplished management teams which are eager to march forward together
with and benefit from our management team’s expertise. We have devoted significant resources to analyzing and reaching
alignment among a target’s management and its stakeholders, a paramount element to successful execution of any business
plan;
______
Operational maturity :
We have targeted companies that have the requisite compliance, financial controls and reporting processes in place and are
ready for the regulatory constraints of a public entity;
______
Growth : We
have invested in software or internet companies that are on what we believe to be a promising growth path, driven by a sustainable
competitive advantage, resulting in strong unit economics;
______
Strategic Initiatives :
We have sought management teams with the interest and ability to execute on strategic opportunities, including acquisitions
of companies that enhances shareholder value;
______
Benefit from
being public : We are committed to working with management and shareholders who aspire to have their company become a public
entity and generate substantial wealth creation. The benefits of transitioning from a private to a public entity may include
a broader access to debt and equity providers, liquidity for employees and potential acquisitions, and expanded branding in
the marketplace;
3
______
Reputation and
market acceptance : We have sought companies with a sizable market share in their segment and the opportunity to achieve
market leadership. They should also have defensible proprietary technology and intellectual property rights; and
______
Appropriate valuations :
We are rigorous, disciplined, and valuation-centric investors, with a keen understanding of market value. We expect to enter
into a business combination only if it pairs significant upside potential with limited downside risks.
These
criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination
may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our
management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business,
such as AvePoint, that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet
the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this
Report, 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.
We
may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to
redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination. We intend to acquire a company
with an enterprise value significantly above the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units.
Depending on the size of the transaction or the number of public shares we become obligated to redeem, we may potentially utilize
several additional financing sources, including but not limited to the issuance of additional securities to the sellers of a target
business, debt issued by banks or other lenders or the owners of the target, a private placement to raise additional funds, or
a combination of the foregoing. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient
funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial
business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient to meet our obligations or our working capital needs, we may need to obtain
additional financing.
Our
Search for Business Combination Opportunities
Nasdaq
rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of
the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the 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, we will obtain
an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions
with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able
to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if
it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty
as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects.
We
anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way so that the post-transaction company in which
our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses,
or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the
target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons. However,
we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding
voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required
to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50%
or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own
a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business
combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all
of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However,
as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediately prior to our initial business
combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than
100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company,
the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s
80% fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value
test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial
business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. Based on the valuation
analysis of our management and board of directors, we have determined that the fair market value of AvePoint was substantially
in excess of 80% of the funds in the trust account and that the 80% test was therefore satisfied.
4
Our
Business Combination Process
We
are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers
or directors. While AvePoint is not affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, in the event we do not consummate the
AvePoint Business Combination and seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our
sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment
banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair
to our company from a financial point of view.
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 were to be included by a target business as a condition to any
agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Certain
of our officers and directors presently have fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer
or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. 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 opportunity to
such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially
affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides
that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly
offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are
legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director
or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our
officers have agreed not to become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities
registered under the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination,
such as the Business Combination Agreement, or we have liquidated the trust account.
Our
Management Team
Members
of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their
time as they, in the exercise of their respective business judgement, deem necessary to our affairs and intend to continue doing
so until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes
in any time period may vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the
current stage of the business combination process. We do not have an employment agreement with any member of our management team.
We
believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies provides us with a substantial
number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed
a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in the software and internet technology industry. This network has grown
through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships
with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions
under varying economic and financial market conditions.
Status
as a Public Company
We
believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer
a target business, like AvePoint, an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business
combination with us. Following an initial business combination, such as the AvePoint Business Combination, we believe the target
business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with
stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile
among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with
us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of
Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash,
allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. See “AvePoint Business Combination”
above for more information regarding such exchange in the AvePoint Business Combination.
5
Although
there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses, such as AvePoint,
will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public
offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination
transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts
and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business
combination with us.
Furthermore,
once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an
initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market
conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following
an initial business combination, such as the AvePoint Business Combination, we believe the target business would then have greater
access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests and
the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a
company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While
we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential
target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek
stockholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced
disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the
requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder 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 September 19, 2024,
(b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated
filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the
prior June 30 th , 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.
Financial
Position
With
funds available in our trust account for an initial business combination in the amount of $338,708,320 (as of December 31, 2020),
after payment of $13,150,000 of deferred underwriting fees, before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination,
we offer a target business, such as AvePoint, a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing
capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage
ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination
of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration
to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, other than with regard to the Private Placements described
above, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting
Our Initial Business Combination
We
are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate
our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the
placement units, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to backstop
agreements we may enter into or otherwise), 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.
6
If
our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust
account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions
of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate
purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest
due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working
capital.
We
may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of
our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather
than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with
the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, and may as a result be required to seek additional
financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would
expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of
an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents
disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek
stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, or through loans in
connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any
third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
See
“AvePoint Business Combination” above for more information regarding the financing of and agreements related to the
AvePoint Business Combination.
Sources
of Target Businesses
Target
business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment
professionals. Target businesses are brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us
by calls or mailings. These sources also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited
basis, since many of these sources will have read our public filings and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers
and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates, also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become
aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as
attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise
necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their
affiliates. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize
in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we
may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation
based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a
finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis
with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finders’ fees
is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust
account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers, directors or advisors be paid any finder’s
fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to,
or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial
business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers, directors or
advisors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting
fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination except as set
forth herein.
We
pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support
and to reimburse our sponsor and our officers, directors and advisors for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating
and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements
with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements
will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
We
are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or
directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor,
officers or directors. While AvePoint is not affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, in the event we do not consummate
the AvePoint Business Combination and we seek to complete our 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 or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination
is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
If
any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business
of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such
business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers
and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties
to us.
7
Selection
of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
Nasdaq
rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of
the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the 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.
The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more
standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading
multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable
businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination,
we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation
opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not
be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to
do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty
as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries
in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management has virtually unrestricted flexibility
in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we are not permitted to effectuate our initial
business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In
any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting
securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register
as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets
of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction
company is what will be taken into account for purposes of Nasdaq’s 80% fair market value test.
To
the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early
stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management
will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain
or assess all significant risk factors.
In
evaluating a prospective business target, such as AvePoint, we have conducted, and will continue to conduct a thorough due diligence
review, which encompasses, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews
of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made
available to us.
The
time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the
costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect
to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our 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.
Lack
of Business Diversification
For
an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend
entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations
with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations
and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business
combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification
may:
______
subject us to negative
economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular
industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and
______
cause us to depend
on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
8
Limited
Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although
we have closely scrutinized the management of a prospective target business, including the management of AvePoint, when evaluating
the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, and plan to continue to do so if the AvePoint
Business Combination is not consummated and we seek other business combination opportunities, our assessment of the target business’
management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or
abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business
cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will
remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or
more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, including the
AvePoint Business Combination in which Jeff Epstein will serve as a director and Brad Koenig will serve as an observer of the
combined company post-Closing, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our
initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience
or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We
cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company.
The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our
initial business combination.
Following
an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target
business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will
have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Stockholders
May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We
may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder
approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business
or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we
may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
Type
of Transaction
Whether
Stockholder Approval is Required
Purchase
of assets
No
Purchase
of stock of target not involving a merger with the company
No
Merger
of target into a subsidiary of the company
No
Merger
of the company with a target
Yes
Under
Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
______
we issue shares
of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then
outstanding;
______
any of our directors,
officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively
have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and
the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power
of 5% or more; or
______
the issuance or
potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
See
“AvePoint Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed in the AvePoint
Business Combination.
9
Permitted
Purchases of our Securities
If
we seek stockholder 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 stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their
affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or
following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders,
directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law
and Nasdaq rules. In connection with the Private Placements, each of Brad Koenig and Jeff Epstein agreed to purchase 50,000 shares
of Apex Common Stock. There are currently no other commitments, plans or intentions by our initial stockholders, directors, officers,
advisors or their affiliates to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions.
If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic
information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not
currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the
Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers
determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such
rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers
are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public
warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
The
purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby
increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition
in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial
business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of
public 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 shares of Class A common stock or 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 stockholders with whom our sponsor,
officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly
or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders 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 stockholders 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 stockholder
has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or
their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal
securities laws.
Any
purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the
Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe
harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical
requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers,
directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock 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 purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
See
“AvePoint Business Combination” above for more information regarding such purchases in the AvePoint Business Combination.
Redemption
Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our
public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion
of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the
trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, such as the AvePoint Business
Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes,
divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account
as of December 31, 2020 is approximately $10.05 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. Our sponsor,
officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption
rights with respect to any founder shares and (along with Cantor) placement shares and any public shares held by them in connection
with the completion of our initial business combination.
10
Manner
of Conducting Redemptions
We
will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock
upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve
the initial business combination, as in the AvePoint Business Combination, or (ii) by means of a tender offer if the AvePoint
Business Combination is not consummated. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business
combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors
such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under
the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under Nasdaq rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically
require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue
more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require
stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder
approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination.
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval
is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal
reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we are required to comply with such rules.
If
a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will,
pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
______
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.
Upon
the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance
with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through
a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In
the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business
days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination
until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not
tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on
the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be
at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of
underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any
greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination.
If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete
the initial business combination.
If,
however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain
stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
______
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 stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection
therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business
combination.
11
If
we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of
common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders
present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power
of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count
toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder
shares and placement shares and any public shares purchased (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in
favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common
stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a
result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and placement shares, we would need only 12,720,001, or
36.3%, of the 35,000,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination
(assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately
30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which
a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements
of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder
may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption)
our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination
and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock”
rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business
combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target
or its equityholders, as is the case with the AvePoint Business Combination (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working
capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the
terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay
for all shares of Class A common stock 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 shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption
will be returned to the holders thereof.
See
“AvePoint Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed in the AvePoint
Business Combination.
Limitation
on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, if we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation
provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder
is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking
redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer
to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction
will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability
to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial 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 stockholder holding an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise
its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current
market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares
sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders
to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an
initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain
amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess
Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
See
“AvePoint Business Combination” above for more information regarding the requisite approvals needed in the AvePoint
Business Combination.
Tendering
Stock Certificates in Connection with Redemption Rights
We
may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights (which requirement is applicable in the Business
Combination Agreement), whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their
certificates to our transfer agent up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination,
or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s Deposit/Withdrawal
At Custodian (“DWAC”) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of
our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders
to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have up to two days prior to the vote on the initial
business combination to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise
period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
12
There
is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering
them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker
whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not
we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of
exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
Any
request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date of the stockholder meeting. Furthermore,
if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides
prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return
the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares
electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If
our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise
their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In
such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If
our proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination
with a different target until September 19, 2021.
Redemption
of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we have until September 19, 2021 to complete our initial business
combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021, we will: (i) cease all operations
except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter,
redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account
including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to
$100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will
completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions,
if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval
of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii)
above to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There
will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail
to complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021.
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 and) along with Cantor) placement shares
held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021. However, if our sponsor, officers
or directors acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to
such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021.
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 certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption
in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business
combination by September 19, 2021 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class
A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on
deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us
to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long
as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation
of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject
to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive
number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed
with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
If
we do not consummate the AvePoint Business Combination or any other initial business combination by the deadline set forth in
our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, 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 $197,628
of proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2020), although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient
funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any
tax obligations we may owe. 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 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.
13
If
we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, other than the proceeds
deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption
amount received by stockholders 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 stockholders.
We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than
$10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or
make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided
for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. 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 have sought and will continue to seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditor), prospective
target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or
claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee
that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims
against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar
claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect
to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement
waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available
to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such
third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances
where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular
expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to
execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. Withum, our independent
registered public accounting firm, and Cantor, the underwriters of the 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. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services
rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent,
confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below
the lesser of (i) $10.00 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 believe that
our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able
to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without
limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In
the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per
public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the
trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it
is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim,
our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce
its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may
choose not to do so 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. We have not asked
our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy
those obligations. 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 public share.
We
seek to reduce the possibility that our Sponsor has to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to
have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditor), 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 have access to up to approximately
$197,628 of the proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2020) 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,
stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
14
Under
the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received
by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption
of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021 may be considered
a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. Delaware law provides that if a corporation complies with certain procedures set
forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a
60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which
the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are
made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such
stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder
would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore,
if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in
the event we do not complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021, is not considered a liquidating distribution
under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings
that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the
statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of
three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by September
19, 2021, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but
not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate
amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously
released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding
public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right
to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible
following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate,
subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and
the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible
following September 19, 2021 and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could
potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders
may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because
we are complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such
time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us
within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations
are limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors
(such as lawyers, investment bankers, and auditors) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation
contained in our underwriting agreement, we have sought and will continue to seek to have all vendors, service providers (other
than our independent auditor), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with
us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this
obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result
in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to
ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per
public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the
trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will 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. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not
be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If
we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held
in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to
the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. 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 stockholders. Additionally, if we
file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions
received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential
transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts
received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors
and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders
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 stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion
of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder
vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (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 by September 19, 2021 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating
to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public
shares if we are unable to complete our business combination by September 19, 2021, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances
will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval
in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination
alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account.
Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with
a stockholder vote.
15
Competition
In
identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, such as AvePoint, we have encountered,
and may continue to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other
blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations.
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 greater financial, technical, human and other resources than
we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation
gives others an advantage in pursuing the initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay
cash in connection with our public stockholders 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.
Facilities
Our
executive offices are located at 533 Airport Blvd, Suite 400, Burlingame, CA 94010, and our telephone number is (619) 736-6855.
Our executive offices are provided to us by our sponsor. We pay an affiliate of our sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office
space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We
currently have two officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they
devote as much of their time as they deem necessary and intend to continue doing so, in the exercise of their respective business
judgement, to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time
period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the
initial 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, including the AvePoint Business Combination. We do not have an employment agreement with any member
of our management team.
Periodic
Reporting and Financial Information
Our
units, public shares and public warrants are registered under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement
that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, this
Report contains financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We
will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business, such as AvePoint, as part of the
tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In
all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP or IFRS, depending
on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of
the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination
with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with
federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that
any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared
in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with
the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed
target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation
will be material.
We
are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer an emerging growth
company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the
provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of
any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such
business combination.
We
will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following September 19, 2024,
(b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated
filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million
as of the prior June 30 th , and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt during the prior three-year period.
16
Item 1A.
Risk Factors.
You
should carefully consider all of the following risk factors and all of the other information contained in this Report, including
the financial statements. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations may
be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all
or part of your investment. The risk factors described below are not necessarily exhaustive and you are encouraged to perform
your own investigation with respect to us and our business. For risks relating to AvePoint and the AvePoint Business Combination,
please see the AvePoint Registration Statement.
Risks
Related to Our Business and Corporate Structure
We
are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to
achieve our business objective.
We
are a blank check company with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate
our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses.
We may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will
never generate any operating revenues.
There
are risks related to the software and internet technology industries to which we may be subject.
Business
combinations with companies with operations in the software and internet technology industries entail special considerations and
risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with a target business with operations in the software and internet
technology industries, we will be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks, including but not limited
to:
______
if we do not develop
successful new products or improve existing ones, our business will suffer;
______
we may invest in
new lines of business that could fail to attract or retain users or generate revenue;
______
we will face significant
competition and if we are not able to maintain or improve our market share, our business could suffer;
______
disruption or failure
of our networks, systems, platform or technology that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products
and services, may cause our users, advertisers, and partners to cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether,
which could seriously harm our business;
______
mobile malware,
viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products could seriously harm our business
and reputation;
______
if we are unable
to successfully grow our user base and further monetize our products, our business will suffer;
______
if we are unable
to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our business
may be seriously harmed;
______
we may be subject
to regulatory investigations and proceedings in the future, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us
to change our business practices in a way that could seriously harm our business; and
______
components used
in our products may fail as a result of a manufacturing, design, or other defect over which we have no control, and render
our devices inoperable.
Any
of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying
prospective target businesses will not be limited to the software and internet technology industries. Accordingly, if we acquire
a target business in another industry, these risks will likely not affect us and we will be subject to other risks attendant with
the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.
17
You
will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of some other blank check companies.
Since
the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial
business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company
under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000, we are exempt from
rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not afforded
the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means that we have a longer period of time to complete our
business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419,
that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds
in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.
We
are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure
requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make
it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We
are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may
take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are
not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements
of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports
and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and
stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access
to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances
could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds
$700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following
December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions.
If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our
securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading
prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further,
Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial
accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared
effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised
financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and
comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We
have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has
different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard
at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another
public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended
transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.
If
we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance
requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If
we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
______
restrictions
on the nature of our investments; and
______
restrictions
on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In
addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
______
registration
as an investment company;
______
adoption
of a specific form of corporate structure; and
______
reporting,
record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
18
In
order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we
must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our
activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting
more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business
will be to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets
for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan
to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We
do not believe that our principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust
account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the
Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the
trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds
to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than
on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an
“investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding
place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption
of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of
incorporation (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 by September 19, 2021
or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity;
or (iii) absent an initial business combination by September 19, 2021, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our
public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may
be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance
with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder
our ability to complete an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial
business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust
account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Changes
in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our
ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
We
are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply
with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult,
time consuming and costly.
Those
laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a
material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable
laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to
negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
Our
initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you
do not support.
Our
initial stockholders own shares representing approximately 21.5% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (including
the placement shares). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially
in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval
of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket
or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional
purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors,
whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is divided into three classes, each of which generally serves for a term
of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. As a consequence of our “staggered” board
of directors, not all directors will be considered for election at our annual meetings of stockholders prior to the consummation
of our initial business combination and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable
influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion
of our initial business combination.
19
Provisions
in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the
price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that
stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability
of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management
more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices
for our securities.
We
are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these
provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment
of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought
in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar
actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder
bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the
effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought
in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar
actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder
bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel except any action
(A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to
the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court
of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum
other than the Court of Chancery, (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction, or (D) any
action arising under the Securities Act, as to which the Court of Chancery and the federal district court for the District of
Delaware shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of
our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum
that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders, which may discourage
lawsuits with respect to such claims, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal
securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Alternatively, if a court were to find the choice of forum provision
contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur
additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results
and financial condition.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest
extent permitted by applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought
to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive
forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim
for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Risks
Related to Our Initial Business Combination
If
the AvePoint Business Combination is not consummated, our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our
proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even if a majority of our
public stockholders do not support such a combination.
If
the AvePoint Business Combination is not consummated and we seek to enter into a business combination with other target companies,
we may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination
would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder
vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval
of a proposed initial business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made
by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether
the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial
business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we
complete.
20
If
we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, after approval of our board, our initial stockholders have agreed
to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Pursuant
to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and placement shares, as
well as any public shares purchased after our initial public offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions),
in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares and placement
shares, we would need only 12,720,001, or 36.3%, of the 35,000,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted
in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business
combination approved. Our initial stockholders own shares representing approximately 21.5% of our outstanding shares of common
stock. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, after approval of our board, the agreement
by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive
the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.
Your
only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise
of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination.
At
the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our
initial business combination. Although we are seeking stockholder approval of the AvePoint Business Combination, if such transaction
is not consummated and we seek to enter into a business combination with other target companies, our Board of Directors may complete
such business combination without seeking stockholder approval. Under such circumstances, public stockholders may not have the
right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do
not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination
may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set
forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The
ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential
business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into an initial business combination with a target.
We
may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition
that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In particular, the Business Combination Agreement provides for an
aggregate cash consideration of $300 million in cash, including funds in the trust account and from any equity financing as a
closing condition for the AvePoint Business Combination, and we may have to satisfy a higher minimum cash closing condition if
the AvePoint Business Combination is not consummated and we seek to enter into a business combination with other target companies.
Under those circumstances, if too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such
closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Furthermore, we will only
redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately
prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions
(so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement
which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly
submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary
to satisfy a closing condition, each as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination
and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may
be reluctant to enter into an initial business combination with us.
The
ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us
to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At
the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination (including the Business Combination Agreement), we will
not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based
on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement
requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount
of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for
third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may
need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing.
Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than
desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common
stock result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock
at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business
combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to
the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The
per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred
underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect
our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
21
The
ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the
probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order
to redeem your stock.
If
our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price,
or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful
is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account
until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open
market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either
situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption
until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
The
requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses
leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential
business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial
business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any
potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning an initial business combination will be aware that
we must complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage
over us in negotiating an initial business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with
that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This
risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence
and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We
may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all
operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public
stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire
worthless.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination by September
19, 2021. We may not be able to complete the AvePoint Business Combination or find another suitable target business and complete
our initial business combination by such date. If we have not completed our initial business combination by such date, we will:
(i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than
ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then
on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to
us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public
shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to
receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following
such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject
in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements
of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire
worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their
shares.
If
we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates
may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination
and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If
we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination (such as the AvePoint Business Combination) and we do not conduct
redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers,
advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions
or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under
no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have
not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase
shares or public warrants in such transactions.
Such
a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is
no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor,
directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders
who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior
elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business
combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, or to satisfy
a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at
the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose
of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants
on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases
of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are
subject to such reporting requirements.
22
In
addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number
of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain the quotation, listing or trading
of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If
a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination,
or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We
will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial
business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials,
as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or
tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business
combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares.
For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders
or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date
set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to
approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer
agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be
redeemed.
If
we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer
rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold 15% or more of our Class A common stock, you will
lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If
we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation provides that a
public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in
concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption
rights with respect to an aggregate of 15% or more of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent,
which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to
vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the
Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a
material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive
redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you
will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your
stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because
of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for
us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders
may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances,
and our warrants will expire worthless.
We
have encountered and expect to continue to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar
to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other
entities competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established
and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or
providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more
industry knowledge than we do, and our financial resources are relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these
competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial
public offering and the sale of the placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target
businesses that are sizable is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others
an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the
shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target
companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place
us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our
initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our
trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than
$10.00 per share upon our liquidation.
23
If
the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient
to allow us to operate until September 19, 2021, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case
our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants
will expire worthless.
The
funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until September 19, 2021, assuming
that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of
the trust account as of December 31, 2020 of $197,628 are sufficient to allow us to operate until September 19, 2021; however,
we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public
stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire
worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation.
If
the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient,
it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination
and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay
our taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete
our initial business combination.
Of
the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, only approximately $197,628 (as of December
31, 2020) will be available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek
additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate in addition
to the $0 loans outstanding as of December 31, 2020 or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management
team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance additional funds to us in such circumstances. Any such additional
advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial
business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option
of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units. Prior
to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an
affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any
and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete
our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient
funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders
may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
Subsequent
to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and
impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and
our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even
if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will
surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all
material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our
control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure
our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully
identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with
our preliminary risk analysis. Although these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity,
the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In
addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of
assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial
business combination. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination
could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value
unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of
care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that
the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the initial business combination constituted an actionable
material misstatement or omission.
24
The
grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders, as well as sellers and investors in connection with our initial business
combination, may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may
adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant
to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our initial
stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the placement warrants, the shares of Class A common
stock issuable upon exercise of the placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of the
founder shares, the shares of Class A common stock included in the placement units and holders of unit that may be issued upon
conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such Class A common stock, warrants or the Class A common stock
issuable upon exercise of such units and warrants. In connection with the closing of the AvePoint Business Combination, that agreement
will be amended and restated, and the combined company, our sponsor, Cantor and certain stockholders of the combined company will
enter into an amended and restated registration rights agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to
which the combined company will agree that, within 15 business days after the closing of the AvePoint Business Combination, the
combined company will be required to file a resale registration statement, which registers for resale certain securities of the
combined company held by our sponsor, the subscribers in the Private Placements and holders of our warrants. The combined company
will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to have such resale registration statement declared effective as soon
as practicable after the filing thereof. Additionally, each of (i) certain entities affiliated with Sixth Street and (ii) the
other Key Company Stockholders (as defined in the AvePoint Business Combination Agreement), may demand registration of their registrable
securities by the combined company up to twice a year. Each such group of demanding holders may request to sell all or any portion
of their registrable securities in an underwritten offering as long as the total offering price is expected to exceed, in the
aggregate, $10 million. Parties subject to the Registration Rights Agreement will be entitled to unlimited piggyback registration
rights.
We
will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities
for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock.
Because
we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector, you will be unable to ascertain the merits
or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We
will seek to complete an initial business combination with companies in the technology industry but may also pursue other business
combination opportunities, except that we are not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, permitted to effectuate
our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have
not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate
the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity,
financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks
inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or
an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations
of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks
inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant
risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of
our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct
investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to
remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such
stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction
was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able
to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable,
relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
If
the AvePoint Business Combination is not consummated, we may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors
which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
As
of the date of this Report, we have been focusing on business combination opportunities with software and internet technology
companies. Even if the AvePoint Business Combination is not consummated, we intend to continue to focus on identifying business
combination opportunities with software and internet technology companies. However, we will consider an initial business combination
outside of our management’s area of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine
that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable
candidate in this sector after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. Although our management
will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will
adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors, especially risks in connection with target businesses in industries
outside of our management’s area of expertise. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately
prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination
candidate.
25
In
the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s
expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding the areas
of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result,
our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders
who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although
we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses,
we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result,
the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with
our general criteria and guidelines.
Although
we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target
business, such as AvePoint, with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these attributes. If
we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination
may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition,
if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater
number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition
with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval
of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may
be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet
our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may
receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In
certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
We
may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of
revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining
key personnel.
To
the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established
record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we
combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although
our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to
properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence.
Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that
those risks will adversely impact a target business.
We
are not required to obtain a fairness opinion and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the
price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless
we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market
value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm
or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our company from
a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors,
who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will
be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We
may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive
plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion
of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of
the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute
the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock,
par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred
stock, par value $0.0001 per share. As of December 31, 2020, there are 46,285,000 and 1,250,000 authorized but unissued shares
of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account the shares
of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not the shares of Class A common stock
issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are currently no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares
of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject
to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked
securities related to our initial business combination.
26
We
may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination
or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial
business combination activity). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at
a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained
in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides,
among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would
entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These
provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate
of incorporation, may be amended with the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive officers, directors and director
nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated
certificate of incorporation (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 by
September 19, 2021 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination
activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval
of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account,
including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
The
issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
______
may
significantly dilute the equity interest of investors;
______
may
subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common
stock;
______
could
cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other
things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of
our present officers and directors; and
______
may
adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants.
Resources
could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent
attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination,
our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on
the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We
anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements,
disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants,
attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up
to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to
a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those
beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely
affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business
combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and
our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on
the redemption of their shares.
Our
ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon
the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel
could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our
ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of
our key personnel in the target business, however, may not presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain
with the target business in senior management positions, directorships, or advisory roles following our initial business combination,
it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize
any individuals we employ after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals
will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC,
which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the
officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination.
The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability
of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion
of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an initial
business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate
following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate
will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination
business.
27
Our
key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business
combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a
result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our
key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are
able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Such negotiations would
take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive
compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the
initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying
and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of
our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with
any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the
completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management
or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the
time of our initial business combination.
We
may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial
business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a
public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
When
evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess
the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities
of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications
or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary
to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly,
any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the
value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our
officers and directors allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as
to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our
initial business combination.
Our
officers and directors are not required to, and do not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict
of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for an initial business combination and their other
businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each
of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers
are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve
as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them
to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability
to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Certain
of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business
activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their
time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until
we consummate our initial business combination, we will continue to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one
or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as
operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, although they may not become an officer or
director of, any other special purpose acquisition companies with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act until
we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have liquidated the trust account.
Our
officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the
other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.
Accordingly,
they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These
conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation
to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity
offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as
a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would
otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to
us without violating another legal obligation.
28
Our
officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with
our interests.
We
have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct
or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which
we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is
affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly
prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly,
such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
We
may engage in an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may
be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In
light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses
affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities.
Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent
investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding
the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more businesses
affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result,
the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any
conflicts of interest.
Since
our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed,
a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial
business combination.
In
June 2019, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately
$0.004 per share. In August and September 2019, we effected a 1.1 for 1 stock dividend and a 1.109091 for 1 stock dividend, respectively,
for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,768,750 founder shares.
Because the underwriters of our initial public offering did not exercise their over-allotment option in full, 18,750 of such shares
were forfeited in September 2019. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
Our
sponsor and Cantor purchased an aggregate of 810,000 placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit (657,500 placement units by
our sponsor and 152,500 placement units by Cantor), for an aggregate purchase price of $8,100,000. Each placement unit consists
of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one whole share
of common stock at $11.50 per share. These securities will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination
and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director.
The
personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target
business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial
business combination.
We
may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which
may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment
in us.
Although
we have no commitments as of the date of this Report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding
debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur
any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to
the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from
the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
______
default
and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our
debt obligations;
______
acceleration
of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain
covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
29
______
our
immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
______
our
inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain
such financing while the debt security is outstanding;
______
our
inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
______
using
a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for
dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund
other general corporate purposes;
______
limitations
on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
______
increased
vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government
regulation;
______
limitations
on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and
execution of our strategy; and
______
other
disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We
may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering, the sale of the placement
units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of services and limited
operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of
the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units, $351,809,163 is available to complete our
initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to $13,150,000 for the payment of deferred underwriting
commissions). In addition, in connection with the AvePoint Business Combination, we entered into subscription agreements with
certain accredited investors, pursuant to which we have agreed to issue and sell to such investors an aggregate of 14,000,000
shares of our common stock at a price of $10.00 per share in a private placement transaction.
We
may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or
within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target
business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare
and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target
businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single
entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we
would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike
other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas
of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly,
the prospects for our success may be:
______
solely
dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or
______
dependent
upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This
lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a
substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We
may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to
complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations
and profitability.
If
we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers
to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which
may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. We do not, however, intend
to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business
combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations
and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation
of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately
address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
30
We
may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which
may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In
pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately
held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision
on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in an initial
business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our
management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.
We
may structure an initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares
will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination
if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires
a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment
Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns
50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively
own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the
initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares
of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100%
interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders
immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such
transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or
group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely
that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss
of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate
such business.
We
do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to
complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except we will only
redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately
prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions
(such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement
which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete
our initial business combination even if a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and
have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions
in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated
agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate
cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock 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, all
shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for
an alternate business combination.
In
order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions
of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek
to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for
us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In
order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions
of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have
amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial
business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged
for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require the approval of
holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least a majority of
the public warrants (which may include public warrants acquired by our sponsor or its affiliates in our initial public offering
or thereafter in the open market). In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our
public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and
restated certificate of incorporation (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
by September 19, 2021 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business
combination activity.
31
The
provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and
corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit
us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation
is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower
amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and
restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination
that some of our stockholders may not support.
Our
amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-initial business combination
activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into
the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders
as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors
will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders
of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release
of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In
all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding
common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may
not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial
stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own approximately 21.5% of our common stock, will participate in any vote to
amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any
manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation
which govern our pre-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase
our ability to complete an initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against
us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
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 certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption
in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business
combination by September 19, 2021 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class
A common stock 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, net of taxes payable, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements
are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not
parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against
our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders
would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We
may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth
of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We
intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of
the placement units. As a result, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination.
We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing
proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure
the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, the
amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any
particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase
for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination
and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination. If we are
unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus
any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes on the
liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing
to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business.
The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the
target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with
or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders
may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
32
Our
sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.003 per founder share. As a result of this low
initial price, our sponsor, its affiliates and our management team and advisors stand to make a substantial profit even if an
initial business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public stockholders.
As
a result of the low acquisition cost of our founder shares, our sponsor, its affiliates and our management team and advisors could
make a substantial profit even if we select and consummate an initial business combination with an acquisition target that subsequently
declines in value or is unprofitable for our public stockholders. Thus, such parties may have more of an economic incentive for
us to enter into an initial business combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or financially unstable business, or an entity
lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, than would be the case if such parties had paid the full offering price
for their founder shares.
Unlike
many other similarly structured blank check companies, our initial stockholders will receive additional shares of Class A common
stock if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The
founder shares will automatically convert into Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, on a one-for-one
basis, subject to adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked
securities convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in
our initial public offering and related to the closing of the initial business combination, the ratio at which founder shares
shall convert into Class A common stock will be adjusted so that the number of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of
all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the total number of all outstanding shares of
common stock upon completion of the initial business combination, excluding the placement shares and any shares or equity-linked
securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the business combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued
to our sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to us. This is different from most other similarly structured blank
check companies in which the initial stockholder will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding
prior to the initial business combination. Additionally, the aforementioned adjustment will not take into account any shares of
Class A common stock redeemed in connection with the business combination. Accordingly, the holders of the founder shares could
receive additional shares of Class A common stock even if the additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities
convertible or exercisable for Class A common stock, are issued or deemed issued solely to replace those shares that were redeemed
in connection with the business combination. The foregoing may make it more difficult and expensive for us to consummate an initial
business combination.
Our
warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult
to effectuate our initial business combination.
We
issued warrants to purchase 17,500,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered in our initial public offering
and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued an aggregate of 405,000 placement warrants. Our
initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 8,750,000 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of
Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor makes any
working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option
of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units. To
the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance
of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could
make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued
and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete
the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial
business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The
placement warrants included in the placement units are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public
offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by
us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited
exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination
and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
Because
each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than
units of other blank check companies.
Each
unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only
whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole
warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one warrant
to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect
of the warrants upon completion of an initial business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for
one half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we
believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth
less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
33
A
provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike
most blank check companies, if
(i)
we
issue additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with
the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share;
(ii)
the
aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available
for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net
of redemptions), and
(iii)
the
Market Value is below $9.20 per share,
then
the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued
Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher
of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination
with a target business.
Because
we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous
initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The
federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial business combination meeting certain financial
significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the
same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the
tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, GAAP, or
international financial reporting standards as issued by the IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial
statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statements may also be
required to be prepared in accordance with GAAP in connection with our current report on Form 8-K announcing the closing of our
initial business combination within four business days following such closing. These financial statement requirements may limit
the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements
in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination
within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance
obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require
substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section
404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with this Report.
Since we are not deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer based on such evaluation, will we not be required
to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial
reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent
registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are
a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared
to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be
in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the
internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary
to complete any such business combination.
If
we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would
be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If
we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would
be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any
of the following:
______
higher
costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal
requirements of overseas markets;
______
rules
and regulations regarding currency redemption;
______
complex
corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
______
laws
governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
34
______
tariffs
and trade barriers;
______
regulations
related to customs and import/export matters;
______
longer
payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
______
tax
issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
______
currency
fluctuations and exchange controls;
______
rates
of inflation;
______
cultural
and language differences;
______
employment
regulations;
______
crime,
strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
______
deterioration
of political relations with the United States; and
______
government
appropriations of assets.
We
may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may
adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
Our
search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be
materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
In
December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China, which has and is continuing to spread
throughout other parts of the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared
the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January
31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to
aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized
the outbreak as a “pandemic.” COVID-19 has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected the
economies and financial markets worldwide. The business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination
could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns
relating to COVID-19 restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s
personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent
to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain
and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain
COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for
an extended period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which
we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
As
the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there
may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even
result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In
recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential
targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still
many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies
currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more
effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In
addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with
available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could
cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such
as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close
business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate
or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate
an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
35
Risks
Related to Our Trust Account
The
securities in which we invest the funds held in the Trust Account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the
value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.00
per share.
The
proceeds held in the Trust Account are invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 180 days or less
or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct
U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of
interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest
rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that
it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business
combination or make certain amendments to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled
to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the Trust Account, plus any interest income not released to us, net of
taxes payable. Negative interest rates could impact the per-share redemption amount that may be received by public stockholders.
You
will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate
your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our
public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion
of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder
properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted
in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (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 by September 19, 2021 from the closing of our initial public offering
or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity
and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by September 19, 2021,
subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right
or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account
with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants,
potentially at a loss.
If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount
received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our
placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we 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 stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not
be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary
responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order
to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party
refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis
of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if
management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Withum, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering, will not execute agreements with
us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples
of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party
consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants
that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of,
or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for
any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed
timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required
to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following
redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share
initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and
to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with
which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement,
reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 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 believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we
cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify
us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
36
Our
directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of
funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In
the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per share and (ii) the actual amount
per 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 net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor
asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim,
our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While
we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification
obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary
duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent
directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome
is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the
trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
If,
after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary
bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and
our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If,
after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary
bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under
applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.”
As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors
may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself
and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If,
before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary
bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over
the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with
our liquidation may be reduced.
If,
before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary
bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable
bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the
claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise
be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Risks
Related to Our Common Stock and the Securities Market
Nasdaq
may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our
securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our
securities are currently listed on Nasdaq. However, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq
in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our
initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain
a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally
300 round-lot holders with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value of at least $2,500).
Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s
initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue
to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least
$4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required
to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders (with at least 50% of such round lot holders holding securities with a market value
of at least $2,500) of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at
that time.
If
Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities
exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant
material adverse consequences, including:
37
______
a
limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
______
reduced
liquidity for our securities;
______
a
determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class
A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary
trading market for our securities;
______
a
limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
______
a
decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The
National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating
the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, our Class A common
stock and warrants are listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and our warrants are covered securities. Although the
states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies
if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale
of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict
the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view
blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities
of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not be covered
securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with
our initial business combination.
We
may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders
of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased,
the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant
could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our
warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant
agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder
to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the
then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants
(which may include public warrants acquired by our sponsor or its affiliates in our initial public offering or thereafter in the
open market). Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least
a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public
warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments
could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock,
shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We
may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants
worthless.
We
have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a
price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per
share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days
within a 30 trading-day period commencing once the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third trading day prior to the
date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants
become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the
warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such
registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue
sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in our initial public offering. Redemption
of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it
may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise
wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called
for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the placement warrants will
be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
38
Our
stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption
of their shares.
Under
the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received
by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption
of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by September 19, 2021 may be considered
a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the
DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during
which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any
claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability
of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share
of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third
anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following
September 19, 2021 in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply
with the foregoing procedures.
Because
we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us
at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against
us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company,
and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise
would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, and auditors) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of
distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution
is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder,
and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you
that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially
be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may
extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our
public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination
by September 19, 2021 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed
to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that
are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then
be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We
have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any
state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus
precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon
exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will
not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
We
have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering
under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have
agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination,
we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the
shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same
to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating
to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the
provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise
which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements
contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable
upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required
to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless
basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of
the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an
exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A common
stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial
business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period
when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the
exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or
another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. We will use our
best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In
no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants
in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants issued in our initial public offering
under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the
warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be
entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired
their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common
stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the
issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable
state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or
qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were
offered by us in our initial public offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable
to exercise such public warrants but holders of our placement warrants may be able to exercise such placement warrants.
39
If
you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from
such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
There
are circumstances in which the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First,
if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective
by the 60 th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time
as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the
Securities Act or another exemption. Second, if a registration statement covering the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise
of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrant
holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to
maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuant to the exemption provided by Section
3(a)(9) of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available; if that exemption, or another exemption, is not available,
holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. Third, if we call the public warrants for redemption,
our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the
event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that
number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of
Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the
“fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value”
is the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior
to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the
holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than
if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
A
market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price
of our securities.
The
price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic
conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained.
You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
General
Risk Factors
We
may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We
have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors
have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek
recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied
by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers
or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative
litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders.
Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage
awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
Past
performance by our management team and advisors may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Past
performance by our management team and advisors is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination
we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should
not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or advisors’ performance as indicative of the future performance
of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. Additionally, in the
course of their respective careers, members of our management team have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful.
Our officers and directors have not had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the
past.
We
are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure, or any illness contracted as a result of COVID-19
or otherwise, could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our
operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors.
We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed
our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our
directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers and/or
advisors including due to disease (such as COVID-19), disability or death, could have a detrimental effect on us.
40
The
occurrence of natural disasters may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations following our
business combination.
The
occurrence of natural disasters, including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, fires and pandemic disease may adversely
affect our business, financial condition or results of operations following our business combination. The potential impact of
a natural disaster on our results of operations and financial position is speculative and would depend on numerous factors. The
extent and severity of these natural disasters determines their effect on a given economy. Although the long-term effect of diseases
such as the COVID-19 “coronavirus,” H5N1 “avian flu,” or H1N1, the “swine flu,” cannot currently
be predicted, previous occurrences of avian flu and swine flu had an adverse effect on the economies of those countries in which
they were most prevalent. An outbreak of a communicable disease in our market could adversely affect our business, financial condition
and results of operations, and timely reporting obligations under Regulation S-X and Regulation S-K following our business combination.
We cannot assure you that natural disasters will not occur in the future or that our business, financial condition and results
of operations will not be adversely affected.
Cyber
incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial
loss.
We
depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those
of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure,
or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary
information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection,
we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against,
or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination
of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not
applicable.
Item 2.
Properties.
We
do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We currently maintain our principal
executive offices at 533 Airport Blvd, Suite 400, Burlingame, CA 94010. The cost for this space is included in the $15,000 per-month
aggregate fee our sponsor charges us for general and administrative services. We consider our current office space, combined with
the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings.
To
the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending against us, any of our officers or directors in their
capacity as such or against any of our property.
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not
applicable.
41
PART
II
Item 5.
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market
Information
Our
units, Class A common stock and warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “APXTU,” “APXT”
and “APXTW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on September 17, 2019, and our Class A common stock
and warrants commenced separate public trading on November 5, 2019.
Holders
On
March 8, 2021, there were three (3) holders of record of our units, one (1) holder of record of our Class A common stock, one
(1) holder of our Class B common stock and one (1) holder of record of our warrants.
Dividends
We
have not paid any cash dividends on our shares, and we have no present intention of doing so. Any future payment of cash dividends
will be determined by our board of directors in light of our earnings, financial condition and other relevant considerations. Except
as noted in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”
below, there are currently no contractual restrictions on our ability to pay dividends in cash or shares.
Securities
Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent
Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
Purchases
of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6.
Selected Financial Data.
Not
required.
Item
7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The
following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction
with our audited consolidated financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Consolidated
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion
and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated
in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Special
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This
Report includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E
of the Exchange Act that are not historical facts, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those expected and projected. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Quarterly
Report including, without limitation, statements in this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition
and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives
of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as “expect,” “believe,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “seek” and variations and similar words and
expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to future events
or future performance, but reflect management’s current beliefs, based on information currently available. A number of factors
could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events, performance and results discussed in the
forward-looking statements. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the “Risk Factors” section. Except as expressly
required by applicable securities law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
42
Overview
We
are a blank check company formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on April 5, 2019 for the purpose of effecting a merger,
capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more target
businesses (an “initial business combination”). We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash
from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the placement units that occurred simultaneously with the completion
of our initial public offering, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
We
expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to
complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Business
Combination Agreement
On
November 23, 2020, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Business Combination Agreement”)
by and among the Company, Athena Technology Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Merger Sub 1”), Athena Technology
Merger Sub 2, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Merger Sub 2”), and AvePoint, relating to a proposed business
combination transaction between the Company and AvePoint. The Business Combination Agreement was amended on December 30, 2020.
Pursuant
to the Business Combination Agreement, Merger Sub 1 will be merged with and into AvePoint (the “First Merger”), with
AvePoint surviving the First Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and promptly following the First Merger, AvePoint
will be merged with and into Merger Sub 2 (the “Second Merger”), with Merger Sub 2 surviving the Second Merger as
a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
Pursuant
to the terms of the Business Combination Agreement, at the effective time of the Merger:
(a)
The aggregate consideration to be paid to AvePoint equity shareholders will be (i) an amount in cash of approximately $262 million (the “Aggregate Cash Consideration”), minus a deduction for the PIPE Fees and (ii) 143,261,093 shares of common stock of Apex, par value $0.0001 (“Apex Common Stock”), which includes shares of Apex Common Stock that may be issuable pursuant to the exercise of exchanged AvePoint stock options (such aggregate amount, the “Aggregate Stock Consideration”). The Aggregate Stock Consideration will be increased by a number of shares of Apex Common Stock equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Exchanged Options divided by $10.00;
(b)
AvePoint’s stockholders who hold shares of Series C Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 (“AvePoint Preferred Stock”) will receive an aggregate amount of $135 million (subject to deduction for Preferred PIPE Fees) from the Aggregate Cash Consideration and will receive the balance of their consideration in shares of Apex Common Stock from the Aggregate Stock Consideration;
(c)
All holders of shares of common stock of AvePoint, par value $0.001 per share (“AvePoint Common Stock”) other than the Named Executives will receive an aggregate amount of between $75 million and approximately $92 million in cash (subject to deduction for certain expenses) based on an election (“Cash Election”) from the balance of the Aggregate Cash Consideration and will receive the remainder of their consideration in shares of Apex Common Stock from the Aggregate Stock Consideration;
(d)
All shares of AvePoint Common Stock and AvePoint Preferred Stock held in the treasury of AvePoint or by Apex shall be canceled without any conversion thereof and no payment or distribution shall be made with respect thereto;
(e) Each share of common stock of Merger Sub 1 issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time shall be converted into and exchanged for one validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable share of common stock, par value
$0.001 per share, of the Surviving Corporation;
(f) Each Named Executive Cash-Settled Option that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective
Time, shall be converted into the right to receive (A) an amount of cash equal to: the product of (1) the number of Named Executive
Cash-Settled Options multiplied by (2) the Per Share Amount, minus (y) the aggregate exercise price attributable to such Named
Executive Cash-Settled Options; and (B) the contingent right to receive a number of shares Contingent Consideration following the
Closing in accordance with the Business Combination Agreement;
(g) The Named Executives will receive an aggregate amount of $35 million in cash (subject to deduction
for the Named Executive PIPE Fees (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement)) from the Aggregate Cash Consideration and
will receive the balance of their transaction consideration in shares of Apex Common Stock from the Aggregate Stock Consideration;
43
(h) Each AvePoint Option that is outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time, whether vested
or unvested (other than the Named Executive Cash-Settled Options and AvePoint Options granted to Eligible individuals in the People’s
Republic of China (“PRC Options”)), shall be converted into (1) an option to purchase a number of shares of Apex Common
Stock (such option, an “Exchanged Option”) equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of (x) the
number of shares of AvePoint Common Stock subject to such AvePoint Option immediately prior to the Effective Time and (y) the Exchange
Ratio, at an exercise price per share (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) equal to (A) the exercise price per share of such
AvePoint Option immediately prior to the Effective Time divided by (B) the Exchange Ratio; and
(i) The PRC Options will not be continued or assumed by AvePoint, Apex or the Merger Subs as part of
the Mergers. The cancelled PRC Options will be replaced and substituted for as of the Effective Time with the award of a new stock
option to purchase a number of shares of Apex Common Stock pursuant to the 2021 Plan equal to the product (rounded down to the
nearest whole number) of (x) the number of shares of AvePoint Common Stock subject to such PRC Option immediately prior to the
Effective Time and (y) the Exchange Ratio, at an exercise price (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) equal to (A) the exercise
price per share of such PRC Option prior to the Effective Time divided by (B) the Exchange Ratio. The replacement stock options
will be credited with vesting to the same extent as the existing PRC Options being replaced, and the new replacement awards will
be subject to same vesting schedule and exercisability provisions
Additionally,
On November 23, 2020, Apex entered into separate subscription agreements (collectively, the “Subscription Agreements”)
with a number of investors (collectively, the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which the PIPE Investors agreed to purchase
an aggregate of 14,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock (the “PIPE Shares”), at a purchase price of $10.00 per share
for an aggregate purchase price of $140,000,000, in one or more private placement transactions (the “Private Placements”).
The closing of the Private Placements pursuant to the Subscription Agreements is contingent upon, among other customary closing
conditions, the concurrent consummation of the Proposed Transactions. The purpose of the Private Placements is to raise additional
capital for use by the combined company following the Closing.
Following
the Closing, in addition to the Aggregate Cash Consideration and Aggregate Stock Consideration, the holders of AvePoint Preferred
Stock, AvePoint Common Stock and AvePoint Options shall be issued additional shares of Apex Common Stock, as follows:
(a) 1,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock, in the aggregate, if at any time from and after the Closing
through the seventh anniversary thereof (x) the Closing Price is greater than or equal to $12.50 over any 20 Trading Days within
any 30 Trading Day period or (y) Apex consummates a Subsequent Transaction, which results in the stockholders of Apex having the
right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property having a value equaling or exceeding $12.50 per share (the
“First Milestone”) (such 1,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock, the “First Milestone Contingent Consideration”);
(b) 1,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock, in the aggregate, if at any time from and after the Closing
through the seventh anniversary thereof (x) the Closing Price is greater than or equal to $15.00 over any 20 Trading Days within
any 30 Trading Day period or (y) Apex consummates a Subsequent Transaction, which results in the stockholders of Apex having the
right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property having a value equaling or exceeding $15.00 per share (the
“Second Milestone”) (such 1,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock, the “Second Milestone Contingent Consideration”);
and
(c) 1,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock, in the aggregate, if at any time from and after the Closing
through the seventh anniversary thereof (x) the Closing Price is greater than or equal to $17.50 over any 20 Trading Days within
any 30 Trading Day period or (y) Apex consummates a Subsequent Transaction, which results in the stockholders of Apex having the
right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property having a value equaling or exceeding $17.50 per share (the
“Third Milestone”) (such 1,000,000 shares of Apex Common Stock, the “Third Milestone Contingent Consideration”
and together with the First Milestone Contingent Consideration and the Second Milestone Contingent Consideration, the “Contingent
Consideration”). For the avoidance of doubt, the maximum amount of the Contingent Consideration is 3,000,000 shares of Apex
Common Stock, in the aggregate.
The
parties to the Business Combination Agreement have made customary representations, warranties and covenants, including, among
others, with respect to the conduct of the businesses of AvePoint and Apex during the period between execution of the Business
Combination Agreement and the consummation of the Business Combination
44
Results
of Operations
We
have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from inception to December 31,
2020 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and, following
the Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination and completing activities related to the
Business Combination Agreement. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial
Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the trust
account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance),
as well as for due diligence expenses in connection with completing a Business Combination.
For
the year ended December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $4,251,085, which consisted of operating costs of $5,309,612, franchise
taxes of $201,196 and a provision for income taxes of $411,315 offset by interest earned on marketable securities held in the
Trust Account of $1,671,038
For
the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, we had a net income of $900,810, which consisted of interest
earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $1,809,163, offset by operating costs of $295,109, franchise taxes
of $295,342 and a provision for income taxes of $317,902.
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
On
September 19, 2019, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 35,000,000 Units, which included the partial exercise by the
underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds
of $350,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 810,000 Placement
Units to our Sponsor and Cantor at a price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $8,100,000.
Following
the Initial Public Offering, the exercise of the over-allotment option and the sale of the Placement Units, a total of $350,000,000
was placed in the trust account. We incurred $19,806,442 in transaction costs, including $6,100,000 of underwriting fees, $13,150,000
of deferred underwriting fees and $556,442 of other offering costs.
For
the year ended December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $2,419,063. Net loss of $4,251,085 was affected by interest
earned on marketable securities held in the trust account of $1,671,038 and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which
provided $3,503,060 of cash from operating activities.
For
the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, cash used in operating activities was $473,748. Net income
of $900,810 was offset by interest earned on marketable securities held in the Trust Account of $1,809,163 and changes in operating
assets and liabilities, which provided $434,605 of cash from operating activities.
As
of December 31, 2020, we had cash and marketable securities of $351,858,320 held in the trust account. Interest income on the
balance in the trust account may be used by us to pay taxes. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we withdrew $1,621,881 of
interest earned on the trust account to pay for our franchise tax obligations. We intend to use substantially all of the funds
held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less deferred underwriting
commissions) to complete our initial Business Combination. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in
part, as consideration to complete our initial Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be
used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our
growth strategies.
As
of December 31, 2020, we had cash of $197,628 held outside of the trust account. We intend to use the funds held outside the trust
account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses,
travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners,
review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business
Combination.
In
order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, our Sponsor
or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be
required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination
does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no
proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units
identical to the Placement Units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender.
45
We
do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However,
if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination
are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to
our initial Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial Business
Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon consummation of our initial
Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such initial Business
Combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with
the completion of our initial Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination because we do
not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition,
following our initial Business Combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order
to meet our obligations.
Going
Concern
We
have until September 19, 2021 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a Business
Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and
subsequent dissolution. Management has determined that the mandatory liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and
potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have
been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should we be required to liquidate after September 19, 2021.
Off-Balance
Sheet Financing Arrangements
We
have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020.
We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often
referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet
arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities,
guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual
Obligations
We
do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an
agreement to pay an affiliate of our Sponsor a monthly fee of $15,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative
support to us. We began incurring these fees on September 16, 2019 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlier
of the completion of the initial Business Combination and our liquidation.
The
underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $13,150,000. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the
amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting
agreement.
Principles
of Consolidation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority owned subsidiary where the
Company has the ability to exercise control. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Activities in relation to the noncontrolling interest are not considered to be significant and are, therefore, not presented in
the accompanying consolidated statements.
Critical
Accounting Policies
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets
and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, and income
and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.
46
Class
A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We
account for our common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards
Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities
from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and
are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that
is either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within
our control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity.
Our Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence
of uncertain future events. Accordingly, shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented as temporary
equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of our balance sheets.
Net
Income (Loss) per Common Share
We
apply the two-class method in calculating earnings per share. Net income per common share, basic and diluted for Class A
redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, net of applicable taxes,
by the weighted average number of shares of Class A redeemable common stock outstanding for the periods presented. Net
loss per common share, basic and diluted for Class B non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing net income
less income attributable to Class A redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of shares of Class
A and Class B non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the periods presented.
Recent
Accounting Standards
Management
does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material
effect on our consolidated financial statements.
Item
7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
As
of December 31, 2020, we were not subject to any market or interest rate risk. Following the consummation of our initial public
offering, the net proceeds of our initial public offering, including amounts in the trust account, may be invested in U.S. government
treasury bills, notes or bonds with a maturity of 180 days or less or in certain money market funds that invest solely in U.S.
treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest
rate risk.
Item
8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
This
information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9.
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9A.
Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure
controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports
filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified
in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information
is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate
to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief
executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officer”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls
and procedures as of December 31, 2020, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our
Certifying Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
We
do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls
and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives
of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the
fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent
limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute
assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls
and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance
that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
47
Management’s
Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
As
required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for
establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting
is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our consolidated
financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes
those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company,
(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our
consolidated financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk
that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures
may deteriorate. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2020.
In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management
determined that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020.
This
Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public
accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes
in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During
the most recently completed fiscal quarter, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B.
Other Information.
None.
48
PART
III
Item 10.
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
Directors
and Executive Officers
As
of the date of this Report, our directors and executive officers are as follows:
Name
Age
Position
Jeff
Epstein
64
Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
Brad
Koenig
62
Co-Chief
Executive Officer and Director
David
Chao
54
Director
Peter
Bell
56
Director
Donna
Wells
59
Director
The
experience of our directors and executive officers are as follows:
Jeff
Epstein , our Co-Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and
Secretary since inception, has since 2011 been an operating partner with Bessemer Venture Partners, a venture capital firm, where
he primarily works with chief executive and financial officers to create substantial operational improvements. From 2008 to 2011,
Mr. Epstein was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), a global technology company.
Prior to joining Oracle, he served as chief financial officer of several public and private companies, including DoubleClick (sold
to Google), King World Productions (sold to CBS) and Nielsen’s Media Measurement and Information Group. Earlier in his career,
he was an investment banker at The First Boston Corporation. Today Mr. Epstein leads the CFO Advisory Board at Bessemer where more
than 100 portfolio company CFOs meet in person and online to help each other improve their effectiveness. Mr. Epstein specializes
in marketplaces and B2B software companies and co-teaches the Lean Launchpad class at Stanford University’s Graduate School
of Engineering. Within the last five years he has served on the boards of directors Booking Holdings, an online travel company,
Twilio, a cloud communications platform, Poshmark, an online marketplace, and Shutterstock, an online creative platform. Mr. Epstein
holds an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Yale College.
Brad
Koenig , our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a Director since inception, co-founded and served as chief executive officer of
FoodyDirect.com, an online specialty food marketplace, from 2011 until 2018 when the company was acquired by Goldbelly, Inc. Mr.
Koenig has served as an independent director for Theragenics Corporation, a private medical device company serving the surgical
products and prostate cancer treatment markets, since 2013 and as a director of Hercules Capital, a business development company
focused on venture lending, where he serves on the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees, since 2017. From
2009 to 2011, he was an advisor at Oak Hill Capital Management, a private equity firm. Previously, Mr. Koenig worked for over
twenty years at Goldman Sachs. Mr. Koenig was the Head of Global Technology Investment Banking at Goldman Sachs from 1990 to 2005,
and the Co-Head of Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications from 2002 to 2005. He started at Goldman Sachs in 1984. Mr.
Koenig holds a B.A degree in Economics from Dartmouth College and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Due to his extensive technology-related
operational and investment banking experience, we believe Mr. Koenig is well qualified to serve as a Director.
David
Chao , one of our directors since September 2019, has since 1996 been a co-founder and general partner of the venture capital
firm DCM. At DCM, he guides portfolio companies in formulating corporate and product marketing strategies, developing strong management
teams and implementing domestic and international partnerships. He is also responsible for DCM’s investments in numerous
public and private technology-related companies in the US, China and Japan. Mr. Chao has since 2000 been the chairman of the board
of 51job (Nasdaq: JOBS), a human resources advertisement and outsourcing company in China. Mr. Chao also serves on the Advisory
Board of Legend Capital in China. Mr. Chao was previously a co-founder of Japan Communications Inc. (TYO:9424), a provider of
mobile data and voice communications services in Japan. Previously, he worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company
in San Francisco, in marketing and product management at Apple Computer (Nasdaq:AAPL) and as an account executive for Recruit
Co., Ltd., a Japanese provider of integrated human resources services. Mr. Chao holds a B.A. with high honors in East Asian Studies
from Brown University, and an M.B.A from Stanford University. Due to his extensive investment, technology and venture capital
experience, we believe Mr. Chao is well qualified to serve as a Director.
49
Peter
Bell , one of our directors since September 2019, has since 2018 been general partner of Amity Ventures, a venture capital
and private equity fund. Mr. Bell has spent three decades starting, building, and investing in technology businesses. His thematic
areas of focus include Machine Learning, Big Data, Cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Autonomous Logistics, Data Analytics, Cloud
Computing, Personal/Mobile Commerce, FinTech, and Enterprise Software. Over the last five years he has served on the boards of
several private technology companies including, most recently, Bromium, which focuses on virtual hardware seeking to reduce or
eliminate endpoint computer threats like viruses, malware, and adware, LevelUp, an ordering, payments and loyalty experiences
provider for restaurants, Turbonomic, an enterprise software company, WePay, an integrated payments provider affiliated with Chase
bank, Qumulo, Inc., a hybrid cloud storage provider, GameClosure, a maker of messenger games and HTML 5 apps, and ENJOY, a provider
of same day technology delivery and setup services. Mr. Bell began his career at Price Waterhouse in Boston. In 1986, he joined,
EMC Corporation (now Dell EMC) an enterprise data company, and helped lead EMC initiatives in Silicon Valley. In 1998, Mr. Bell
co-founded StorageNetworks, a pioneer in cloud computing. He led the company as its chief executive and completed an IPO in 2000.
After stepping down in 2003, he formed his own investment firm, Stowe Capital, focusing on early stage investments in enterprise
software, data center infrastructure, and consumer internet companies, where to this day he is managing director. In 2006, Mr.
Bell joined Highland Capital Partners, a global venture capital firm, where he led investments in early and growth stage technology
companies, eventually becoming the managing general partner of the firm. He stepped down from his day-to-day responsibilities
at Highland in 2016 and continued to serve as a senior advisor to the firm through 2018. Mr. Bell holds a B.S. in Management from
Boston College, an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School, and an Honorary Doctorate from Babson College. Due to his extensive
operational, investing and board in the technology industry, we believe Mr. Bell is well qualified to serve as a Director.
Donna
Wells , one of our directors since September 2019, is a serial entrepreneur, an experienced public and private company board
director and an innovator in the financial services, FinTech and cloud software industries. Since 2017, she has been the founder
and chief executive officer at Valencia Ventures, LLC, a provider of strategic consulting advice that assists founding teams in
capital raising activities. From 2010 to 2017, Ms. Wells was chief executive officer of Mindflash Technologies Inc., a private
enterprise software company which she grew from product launch to market leadership, and which was named a Top 50 Small Company
to Work for by Fortune Magazine in 2016. Before leading Mindflash, she was the founding chief marketing officer for Mint.com,
a personal finance platform, from 2007 to 2009, during which time she was instrumental from launch to the company’s acquisition
by Intuit, Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU). Prior to Mint, Ms. Wells had a 20-year career in strategic B2C, B2B and product marketing with
The American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) and The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) and led marketing for two Fortune 500 companies,
Intuit, Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) and Expedia Group (Nasdaq:EXPE). She was appointed by the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Stanford
University Graduate School of Business, as a Lecturer in Management in September 2019. Ms. Wells has served on the Board of Directors
of Mitek Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: MITK), a software company providing digital identity verification, since November 2019 following
two years as a board advisor to the company. She has served as a director at Betterment, an online investment company, since 2018
and at Happy Money, a private financial services company, since 2017. She was previously a director at Boston Private Financial
Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: BPFH), a bank holding company, from 2014 to 2018. She holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.S.
in Economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Due to her extensive financial industry, investment and
technology experience, we believe Ms. Wells is well qualified to serve as a Director.
Number
and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We
have four directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each
year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year
term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Chao and Ms. Wells, expired at the 2020 annual meeting,
our first annual meeting of stockholders. Both Mr. Chao and Ms. Wells were re-elected to serve until the 2023 annual meeting of
stockholders or until their successors are elected and qualified. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting
of Mr. Bell, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting
of Mr. Koenig, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
Our
officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific
terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate.
Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, one or more Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial
Officer, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by
the board of directors.
Committees
of the Board of Directors
Our
board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and
a limited exception, Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised
solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely
of independent directors. Consequently, each of the standing committees of the board of directors is comprised entirely of independent
directors.
50
Audit
Committee
We
have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Chao and Bell and Ms. Wells serve as members of our
audit committee, and Mr. Chao chairs the audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are
required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Chao and Bell
and Ms. Wells meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange
Act.
Each
member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Chao qualifies as an
“audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We
have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the purpose and principal functions of the audit committee, including:
______
the
appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting
firm engaged by us;
______
pre-approving
all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by
us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
______
setting
clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but
not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations;
______
setting
clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
______
obtaining
and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting
firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal
quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal
quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation
by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting
one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with
such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting
firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence;
______
reviewing
and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by
the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
______
reviewing
with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory
or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or
published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant
changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory
authorities.
Director
Nominations
We
do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when
required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors
may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent
directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation
of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees
are Messrs. Chao and Bell and Ms. Wells. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent.
As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.
There
have been no material changes to the procedures by which security holders may recommend nominees to the board of directors. The
board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as
they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special
meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to the board of directors should follow
the procedures set forth in our bylaws.
We
have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors
to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background,
diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and
the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
51
Code
of Ethics
We
have filed a copy of our form of Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees, our audit committee charter,
and our compensation committee charter as exhibits to the Registration Statement filed in connection with our initial public offering.
You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov .
In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments
to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.
Compliance
with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act
Section
16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our executive officers, directors and persons who beneficially own more than 10% of a registered
class of our equity securities to file with the SEC initial reports of ownership and reports of changes in ownership of our common
stock and other equity securities. These executive officers, directors, and greater than 10% beneficial owners are required by
SEC regulation to furnish us with copies of all Section 16(a) forms filed by such reporting persons. Based solely on our review
of such forms furnished to us and written representations from certain reporting persons, we believe that all reports applicable
to our executive officers, directors and greater than 10% beneficial owners were filed in a timely manner in accordance with Section
16(a) of the Exchange Act.
Item 11.
Executive Compensation.
Compensation
Discussion and Analysis
None
of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor a total of $15,000 per
month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination
or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement,
consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any
affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation
of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals are reimbursed
for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses
and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will
be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have
any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket
expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.
After
the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid
consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent
then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed
initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company
to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed
initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer
and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors
for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent
directors on our board of directors.
We
do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation
of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment
or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment
or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or
selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation
of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination.
We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
52
Item 12 .
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The
following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 8, 2021 based on information
obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock, by:
______
each
person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
______
each
of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and
______
all
our executive officers and directors as a group.
Unless
otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all
shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.
Class A
Common
Stock
Class B
Common
Stock
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1)
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
% of
Class
Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned (2)
% of
Class
Apex Technology Sponsor LLC (2)
657,500
1.84 %
8,750,000
100 %
Jeff Epstein (3) (5)
--
--
--
--
Brad Koenig (2)(5)
--
--
--
--
David Chao (3)
--
--
--
--
Peter Bell (3)
--
--
--
--
Donna Wells (3)
--
--
--
--
All executive officers and directors as group (5 individuals)
--
--
8,750,000
100 %
HGC Investment Management Inc. (4)
2,740,000
7.65 %
--
--
(1)
Unless otherwise
noted, the business address for each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Apex Technology Sponsor LLC, 533 Airport
Blvd., Suite 400, Burlingame, CA 94010.
(2)
Each of our officers,
directors, director nominees and advisors is or will be, directly or indirectly, a member of our sponsor. There are three
managing members of our sponsor, Brad Koenig, Alex Vieux and Steven Fletcher. Each manager has one vote, and the approval
of two of the three managing members is required to approve an action of our sponsor. Under the so-called “rule of three”,
if voting and dispositive decisions regarding an entity’s securities are made by three or more individuals, and a voting
or dispositive decision requires the approval of a majority of those individuals, then none of the individuals is deemed a
beneficial owner of the entity’s securities. Based upon the foregoing, no individual managing member of our sponsor
exercises voting or dispositive control over any of the securities held by our sponsor, even those in which he directly holds
a pecuniary interest. Accordingly, none of them will be deemed to have or share beneficial ownership of such shares. Each
of our officers and directors is a member of our sponsor.
(3)
Does not include
any shares held by our sponsor. This individual is a member of our sponsor as described in footnote (2).
53
(4)
According to Schedule
13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2020 by HGC Investment Management Inc. (“HCG”), which serves as the investment
manager to HGC Arbitrage Fund LP (the “Fund”), the address for HCG is 366 Adelaide, Suite 601, Toronto, Ontario
M5V 1R9, Canada. HCG is an investment fund manager, portfolio manager and exempt market dealer registered with the Ontario
Securities Commission. As a result, HCG may be deemed to have beneficial ownership with respect to the shares held by HCG
on behalf of the Fund.
(5)
In connection with the Subscription Agreements, each of Brad Koenig and Jeff Epstein agreed to purchase
of 50,000 shares of Apex Common Stock. These numbers are calculated without regard to Mr. Koenig’s or Mr. Epstein’s
membership interest in the Sponsor
The
table above does not include the shares of common stock underlying the placement warrants or forward purchase securities held
or to be held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this Report.
Changes
in Control
Not
applicable.
Item 13.
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
In
June 2019, we issued an aggregate of 7,187,500 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash,
or approximately $0.004 per share. In August and September 2019, we effected a 1.1 for 1 stock dividend and a 1.109091 for 1 stock
dividend, respectively, for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in our sponsor holding an aggregate of 8,768,750
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 upon completion of our initial public offering (excluding the placement units purchased by our sponsor
in a private placement that closed simultaneously with our initial public offering, and underlying securities). Since the underwriters
partially exercised the over-allotment option, the sponsor forfeited 18,750 of its founder shares, which were canceled by the
Company.
Simultaneously
with the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor and Cantor purchased an aggregate of 810,000 placement units at a
price of $10.00 per unit (657,500 placement units by our sponsor and 152,500 placement units by Cantor), for an aggregate purchase
price of $8,100,000. There are no redemption rights or liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder
shares, placement shares or placement warrants, which will expire worthless if we do not consummate a business combination by
September 19, 2021.
Commencing
on September 16, 2019, we pay First In Line Enterprises, Inc., an affiliate of members of our sponsor, a total of $15,000 per
month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination
or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
54
Other
than the foregoing, no compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in
respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or advisors or any affiliate of our sponsor,
officers, directors or advisors prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation
of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed
for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses
and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments
that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and
the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred
by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior
to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses
related to our initial public offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing
and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2019 or the completion of the initial public offering. The loan was fully repaid on
September 19, 2019.
In
addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, such as the AvePoint
Business Combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated
to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, such as the AvePoint Business Combination,
we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of
the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be
used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into units, at a price of $10.00 per unit at the option
of the lender, upon consummation of our initial business combination. The units would be identical to the placement units. The
terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect
to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not
believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds
in our trust account.
After
our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other
fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in
the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely the amount of such
compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting
held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business
to determine executive and director compensation.
The
holders of the founder shares, placement units, and units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and in
each case holders of their component securities, as applicable) have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any
of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement that was signed on the effective date of the initial
public offering. These holders are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register
such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have “piggy-back” registration rights
to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us.
For
more information about the AvePoint Business Combination, the Business Combination Agreement and the other contemplated agreements
related to the AvePoint Business Combination, see “Item 1. Business”.
Related
Party Policy
We
have adopted a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or
resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings
with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or
relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company.
In
addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we have adopted, is responsible for reviewing and approving
related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members
of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party
transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous
written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. We also
require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits
information about related party transactions.
55
These
procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents
a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To
further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is
affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained an
opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent firm that commonly renders fairness opinions that our
initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, no finder’s fees, reimbursements
or cash payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior
to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis
all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
Director
Independence
Nasdaq
listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined
generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship
which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent
judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Chao and Bell
and Ms. Wells are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our
audit committee is composed solely of independent directors meeting Nasdaq’s additional requirements applicable to members
of the audit committee. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Item
14 . Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The
firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary
of fees paid to Withum for services rendered.
Audit
Fees . For the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, fees
for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $89,610 and $72,875, respectively, for the services Withum
performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the audit of our December 31, 2020 and 2019 consolidated financial
statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Audit-Related
Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, our
independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the
audit or review of consolidated financial statements.
Tax
Fees . For the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, fees
from our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $6,000 and $0, respectively, for tax compliance, tax
advice and tax planning.
All
Other Fees . For the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019,
there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those
set forth above.
Pre-Approval
Policy
Our
audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve
all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our
board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will
pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees
and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved
by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
56
PART
IV
Item 15.
Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
(a)
The following documents
are filed as part of this Form 10-K:
(1)
Financial Statements:
Page
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
F-2
Consolidated
Balance Sheet
F-3
Consolidated
Statement of Operations
F-4
Consolidated
Statement of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
F-5
Consolidated
Statement of Cash Flows
F-6
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-7
(2)
Financial Statement
Schedules:
All
financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the
required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto in this Item 15 of Part IV below.
(3)
Exhibits
We
hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by
reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580,
Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street,
N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 16.
Form 10-K Summary.
Not
applicable.
57
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit No.
Description
2.1
Business
Combination Agreement, dated November 23, 2020, by and among the Company, AvePoint, Merger Sub 1 and Merger Sub 2. (5)
2.2
Amendment
No. 1 to the Business Combination Agreement, (6)
3.1
Certificate
of Incorporation. (2)
3.2
Amended
and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. (1)
3.3
Bylaws.
(2)
4.1
Specimen
Unit Certificate. (3)
4.2
Specimen
Class A Common Stock Certificate. (3)
4.3
Specimen
Warrant Certificate. (3)
4.4
Warrant
Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and between the Company and Continental, as warrant agent. (1)
4.5
Description
of the Registrant’s Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as Amended.
(4)
10.1
Promissory
Note, dated June 25, 2019, issued to the sponsor. (2)
10.2
Letter
Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and among the Company, its officers, its directors and the sponsor. (1)
10.3
Investment
Management Trust Account Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and between the Company and Continental, as trustee. (1)
10.4
Registration
Rights Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and among the Company, the sponsor and Cantor. (1)
10.5
Administrative
Support Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and between the Company and First In Line Enterprises, Inc. (1)
10.6
Unit
Subscription Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and between the Company and the sponsor. (1)
10.7
Unit
Subscription Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, by and between the Company and Cantor. (1)
10.8
Securities
Subscription Agreement, dated June 25, 2019, between the Company and the sponsor. (2)
10.9
Form of Indemnity Agreement. (3)
10.10
Underwriting
Agreement, dated September 16, 2019, between the Company and Cantor, as representatives of the several underwriters. (1)
10.11
Form
of Named Executive Equity Agreement, by and among the Company, AvePoint and the named executive therein. (5)
10.12
Form
of Registration Rights Agreement by and among the Company, the sponsor, Cantor and certain former stockholders of AvePoint.
(5)
10.13
Form
of Lock-Up Agreement. (5)
58
10.14
Insider
Letter Agreement, dated November 23, 2020, by and among the Company, its officers and directors, and the sponsor. (5)
10.15
Stockholder
Support Agreement, dated November 23, 2020, by and among the Company and the persons set forth therein. (5)
10.16
Sponsor
Support Agreement, dated November 23, 2020, by and among the Company, the sponsor and AvePoint. (5)
10.17
Subscription
Agreement, dated November 23, 2020, by and among the Company and the investor named therein. (5)
14.1
Code
of Ethics. (3)
31.1
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
32.1
Certification of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350.**
101.INS
XBRL
Instance Document*
101.SCH
XBRL Taxonomy Extension
Schema*
101.CAL
XBRL Taxonomy Calculation
Linkbase*
101.LAB
XBRL Taxonomy Label
Linkbase*
101.PRE
XBRL Definition
Linkbase Document*
101.DEF
XBRL Definition
Linkbase Document*
* Filed
herewith
** Furnished
herewith
(1)
Incorporated by
reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on September 20, 2019.
(2)
Incorporated by
reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the SEC on August 15, 2019.
(3)
Incorporated by
reference to the Company’s Form S-1/A, filed with the SEC on August 30, 2019.
(4)
Incorporated by
reference to the Company’s Form 10-K, filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020.
(5)
Incorporated by
reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 23, 2020.
(6)
Incorporated by
reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 30, 2020.
59
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed
on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
March
8, 2021
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION
By:
/s/
Jeff Epstein
Name:
Jeff
Epstein
Title:
Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
( Principal Executive
Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer )
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf
of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name
Position
Date
/s/
Jeff Epstein
Co-Chief
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary
March
8, 2021
Jeff
Epstein
(Principal
Executive Officer and Principal
Financial and Accounting Officer )
/s/
Brad Koenig
Co-Chief
Executive Officer and Director
March 8, 2021
Brad
Koenig
/s/
David Chao
Director
March 8, 2021
David
Chao
/s/
Peter Bell
Director
March 8, 2021
Peter
Bell
/s/
Donna Wells
Director
March 8, 2021
Donna
Wells
60
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
INDEX
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Report of
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
F-2
Financial Statements:
Consolidated
Balance Sheets
F-3
Consolidated
Statements of Operations
F-4
Consolidated
Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
F-5
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows
F-6
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
F-7 to F-20
F- 1
REPORT
OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors
of
Apex Technology Acquisition Corporation
and Subsidiaries
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated
balance sheets of Apex Technology Acquisition Corporation and Subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020
and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the year
ended December 31, 2020, and for the period from April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, and the related notes (collectively
referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present
fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the
consolidated results of their operations and their cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2020, and for the period from April
5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America.
Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial
statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated
financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination
by September 19, 2021, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition
and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue
as a going concern. Management's plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements
do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements
are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's consolidated
financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight
Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the
U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with
the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required
to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of their internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we
are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion
on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures
to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing
procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and
disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe
that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/
WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We
have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.
New
York, New York
March 8, 2021
F- 2
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
BALANCE SHEETS
December
31,
2020
2019
ASSETS
Current
assets
Cash
$ 197,628
$ 994,810
Prepaid
expenses
74,642
183,639
Prepaid
income taxes
477,437
—
Total
Current Assets
749,707
1,178,449
Cash
and marketable securities held in Trust Account
351,858,320
351,809,163
TOTAL
ASSETS
$ 352,608,027
$ 352,987,612
LIABILITIES
AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current
liabilities
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
$ 4,408,489
$ 151,799
Franchise
tax payable
81,255
148,543
Income
taxes payable
—
317,902
Total
Current Liabilities
4,489,744
618,244
Deferred
underwriting commissions
13,150,000
13,150,000
TOTAL
LIABILITIES
17,639,744
13,768,244
Commitments
and Contingencies
Class
A common stock subject to possible redemption, 32,996,828 and 33,421,936 shares as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 (at
$10.00 per share), respectively
329,968,280
334,219,360
Stockholders’
Equity
Preferred
stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding
—
—
Class A
common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 2,813,172 and 2,388,064 shares issued and outstanding (excluding
32,996,828 and 33,421,936 subject to possible redemption) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively
281
239
Class B
common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 8,750,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31,
2020 and 2019
875
875
Additional
paid-in capital
8,349,122
4,098,084
(Accumulated
deficit) Retained earnings
(3,350,275 )
900,810
Total
Stockholders’ Equity
5,000,003
5,000,008
Total
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
$ 352,608,027
$ 352,987,612
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements .
F- 3
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Year
Ended
December 31,
For
the Period from
April
5,
2019
(Inception) Through
December 31,
2020
2019
General
and administrative expenses
$ 5,309,612
$ 295,109
Franchise
tax expense
201,196
295,342
Loss
from operations
(5,510,808 )
(590,451 )
Other
income:
Interest
earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account
1,671,038
1,809,163
(Loss)
income before provision for income taxes
(3,839,770 )
1,218,712
Provision
for income taxes
(411,315 )
(317,902 )
Net
(loss) income
$ (4,251,085 )
$ 900,810
Weighted
average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable common stock
35,000,000
35,000,000
Basic
and diluted net income per share, Class A redeemable common stock
$ 0.03
$ 0.03
Weighted
average shares outstanding of Class A and Class B non-redeemable common stock
9,560,000
9,062,000
Basic
and diluted net loss per share, Class A and Class B non-redeemable common stock
$ (0.56 )
$ (0.03 )
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements .
F- 4
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Class A
Common Stock
Class B
Common Stock
Additional
Paid-in
Retained
Earnings (Accumulated
Total
Stockholders’
Shares
Amount
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit)
Equity
Balance – April
5, 2019 (inception)
—
$ —
—
$ —
$ —
$ —
$ —
Issuance
of Class B common stock to Sponsor
—
—
8,786,750
877
24,123
—
25,000
Forfeiture
of Class B common stock
—
—
(18,750 )
(2 )
2
—
—
Sale
of 35,000,000 Units, net of underwriting discount and offering costs
35,000,000
3,500
—
—
330,190,058
—
330,193,558
Sale
of 810,000 Private Placement Units
810,000
81
—
—
8,099,919
—
8,100,000
Class
A common stock subject to possible redemption
(33,421,936 )
(3,342 )
—
—
(334,216,018 )
—
(334,219,360 )
Net
income
—
—
—
—
—
900,810
900,810
Balance – December
31, 2019
2,388,064
239
8,750,000
875
4,098,084
900,810
5,000,008
Change
in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption
425,108
42
—
—
4,251,038
—
4,251,080
Net
loss
—
—
—
—
—
(4,251,085 )
(4,251,085 )
Balance – December
31, 2020
2,813,172
$ 281
8,750,000
$ 875
$ 8,349,122
$ (3,350,275 )
$ 5,000,003
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements .
F- 5
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Year
Ended
December 31,
For
the
Period from
April 5,
2019
(Inception)
Through
December 31,
2020
2019
Cash
Flows from Operating Activities:
Net
(loss) income
$ (4,251,085 )
$ 900,810
Adjustments
to reconcile net (loss) income to net cash used in operating activities:
Interest
earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account
(1,671,038 )
(1,809,163 )
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
Prepaid
expenses
108,997
(183,639 )
Prepaid
income taxes
(477,437 )
—
Accounts
payable and accrued expenses
4,256,690
151,799
Franchise
tax payable
(67,288 )
148,543
Income
taxes payable
(317,902 )
317,902
Net
cash used in operating activities
(2,419,063 )
(473,748 )
Cash
Flows from Investing Activities:
Investment
of cash into Trust Account
—
(350,000,000 )
Cash
withdrawn from Trust Account for franchise and income taxes
1,621,881
—
Net
cash provided by (used in) investing activities
1,621,881
(350,000,000 )
Cash
Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds
from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor
—
25,000
Proceeds
from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid
—
343,900,000
Proceeds
from sale of Private Units
—
8,100,000
Proceeds
from promissory note – related party
—
275,000
Repayment
of promissory note – related party
—
(275,000 )
Payment
of offering costs
—
(556,442 )
Net
cash provided by financing activities
—
351,468,558
Net
Change in Cash
(797,182 )
994,810
Cash
– Beginning of period
994,810
—
Cash
– End of period
$ 197,628
$ 994,810
Non-cash
investing and financing activities:
Initial
classification of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption
$ —
$ 333,314,490
Change
in value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption
$ (4,251,080 )
$ 904,870
Deferred
underwriting fee payable
$ —
$ 13,150,000
The
accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements .
F- 6
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
NOTE
1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Apex
Technology Acquisition Corporation (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on April 5, 2019. The Company was
formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or
similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”).
Although
the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company
intends to focus its search on companies in the software and internet technology industries. The Company is an early stage and
emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth
companies.
The
Company has two subsidiaries, Athena Technology Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company incorporated in Delaware
on October 13, 2020 (“Merger Sub 1”) and Athena Technology Merger Sub 2, LLC, a wholly -owned subsidiary of the Company
incorporated in Delaware on November 2, 2020 (“Merger Sub 2”).
As
of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s
formation, its initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”), which is described below, identifying a target
company for a Business Combination and activities in connection with the proposed acquisition of AvePoint, Inc., a Delaware corporation
(“AvePoint”) (see Note 6). The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its
initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income from
the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering.
The
registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on September 16, 2019. On September
19, 2019, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 35,000,000 units (“Units” and, with respect to the
Class A common stock included in the Units offered, the “Public Shares”), which included the partial exercise by the
underwriters of the over-allotment option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds
of $350,000,000, which is described in Note 3.
Simultaneously
with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 810,000 units (the “Placement Units”)
at a price of $10.00 per Placement Unit in a private placement to Apex Technology Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company
(the “Sponsor”) and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”), the representative of the underwriters, generating
gross proceeds of $8,100,000, which is described in Note 4.
Offering
costs amounted to $19,806,442, consisting of $6,100,000 of underwriting fees, $13,150,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $556,442
of other offering costs.
Following
the closing of the Initial Public Offering on September 19, 2019, an amount of $350,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds
of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Placement Units was placed in a trust account (“Trust
Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment
Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended
investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of
the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and
(ii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below.
The
Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public
Offering and the sale of Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally
toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination
successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at
least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest
earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company
will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting
securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register
as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
F- 7
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
The
Company will provide its holders of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (the “public stockholders”) included
in the public units (“Public Shares”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon
the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination
or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination
or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem
their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account ($10.00 per Public Share, plus any pro rata
interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations).
The per-share amount to be distributed to public stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred
underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 6). There will be no redemption rights
upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The Company will proceed with a Business
Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon such consummation
of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of
the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote
for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the
“Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing
a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain
stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation
pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection
with a Business Combination, the Company’s Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5), Placement
Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving
a Business Combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether
they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
If
the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer
rules, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of
such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under
Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming
its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The
Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to its Founder Shares (as defined below), Placement Shares
(as defined below) and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose
an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (i) that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s
obligation to allow redemption in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company
does not complete a Business Combination or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public
Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
The
Company has until September 19, 2021 to consummate a Business Combination (the “Combination Period”). If the Company
is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for
the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the
Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including
interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations (less
up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption
will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating
distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject
to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate,
subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) above to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims
of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with
respect to the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within
the Combination Period.
The
Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares and Placement Shares if the Company fails
to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares after the Initial
Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if the Company fails
to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their
deferred underwriting commission (see Note 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business
Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the
Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible
that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than $10.00 per share.
F- 8
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
In
order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent
any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which
the Company has discussed entering into a transaction 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. This liability
will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any
kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of
the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the
“Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party,
the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce
the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all
vendors, service providers (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target
businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title,
interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.
Going
Concern
In
connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Financial Accounting Standard Board’s
Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue
as a Going Concern,” the Company has until September 19, 2021 to consummate a Business Combination. It is uncertain that
the Company will be able to consummate a Business Combination by this time. If a Business Combination is not consummated by this
date, there will be a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution of the Company. Management has determined that the mandatory
liquidation, should a Business Combination not occur, and potential subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the
Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities
should the Company be required to liquidate after September 19, 2021. Management plans to continue efforts to close a business combination
within the prescribed time frame.
NOTE
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis
of Presentation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars and have been prepared in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the
accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Principles
of Consolidation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority owned subsidiary where the
Company has the ability to exercise control. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
Activities in relation to the noncontrolling interest are not considered to be significant and are, therefore, not presented in
the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
Emerging
Growth Company
The
Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart
Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting
requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to,
not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements,
and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval
of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further,
Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial
accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared
effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised
financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and
comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The
Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and
it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the
new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s
consolidated financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth
company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences
in accounting standards used.
F- 9
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
Use
of Estimates
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at
the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting
periods.
Making
estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the
effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the consolidated financial statements,
which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future events.
Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from the Company’s estimates.
Cash
and Cash Equivalents
The
Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Class
A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The
Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in the Financial Accounting
Standards Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing
Liabilities from Equity.” Common stock subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured
at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within
the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s
control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The
Company’s Class A common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s
control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2020 and 2019, Class A common stock
subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s
consolidated balance sheets.
Offering
Costs
Offering
costs consist of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly
related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounting to $19,806,442 were charged to stockholders’ equity upon
the completion of the Initial Public Offering.
Income
Taxes
The
Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.”
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences
between the consolidated financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax
bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the
years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and
liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation
allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC
740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of
tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more
likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties
related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for
interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020 and 2019. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could
result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations
by major taxing authorities since inception.
The
Company may be subject to potential examination by foreign taxing authorities in the area of income taxes. These potential examinations
may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance
with foreign tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will
materially change over the next twelve months.
F- 10
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
Net
Income (Loss) Per Common Share
Net
income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding
for the period. The Company has not considered the effect of warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and private placement
to purchase 17,905,000 shares of Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise
of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive.
The
Company’s statements of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for common shares subject to redemption
in a manner similar to the two-class method of income (loss) per share. Net income per common share, basic and diluted, for Class A
redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, by the weighted average number
of Class A redeemable common stock for the periods of 35,000,000 shares. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted, for
Class A and Class B non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net income (loss), less income attributable
to Class A redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of Class A and Class B non-redeemable common stock
outstanding for the periods. Class A and Class B non-redeemable common stock includes the Founder Shares and the Placement Units
as these shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account.
The
following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per share for common shares (in dollars, except
per share amounts):
Year
Ended
December 31,
For
the
Period from
April 5,
2019
(Inception)
Through
December 31,
2020
2019
Redeemable
Class A Common Stock
Numerator:
Earnings allocable to Redeemable Class A Common Stock
Interest
Income
$ 1,671,038
$ 1,809,163
Income
Tax and Franchise Tax
(612,511 )
(613,244 )
Net
Earnings
$ 1,058,527
$ 1,195,919
Denominator:
Weighted Average Redeemable Class A Common Stock
Redeemable
Class A Common Stock, Basic and Diluted
35,000,000
35,000,000
Earnings/Basic
and Diluted Redeemable Class A Common Stock
$ 0.03
$ 0.03
Non-Redeemable
Class A and B Common Stock
Numerator:
Net Income minus Redeemable Net Earnings
Net
(Loss) Income
$ (4,251,085 )
$ 900,810
Net
Earnings applicable to Redeemable Class A Common Stock
(1,058,527 )
(1,195,919 )
Non-Redeemable
Net Loss
$ (5,309,612 )
$ (295,109 )
Denominator:
Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Class A and B Common Stock
Class
A and B Non-Redeemable Common Stock, Basic and Diluted (1)
9,560,000
9,062,000
Loss/Basic
and Diluted Non-Redeemable Class A and B Common Stock
$ (0.56 )
$ (0.03 )
Note:
As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, basic and diluted shares are the same as there are no securities that are dilutive to the Company’s
common stockholders.
(1)
The weighted average
non-redeemable common stock for the year ended December 31, 2020 and the period from April 6, 2019 (inception) through December
31, 2019, includes the effect of 810,000 Private Units, which were issued in conjunction with the initial public offering
on September 19, 2019.
F- 11
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
Concentration
of Credit Risk
Financial
instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial
institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $250,000. At December
31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed
to significant risks on such account.
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
The
fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair
Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets, primarily
due to their short-term nature.
Recent
Accounting Standards
Management
does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material
effect on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
NOTE
3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant
to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 35,000,000 Units, which includes the partial exercise by the underwriters of
its option to purchase an additional 4,500,000 Units, at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class
A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder
to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
NOTE
4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously
with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor and Cantor purchased an aggregate of 810,000 Placement Units at a
price of $10.00 per Placement Unit, for an aggregate purchase price of $8,100,000, of which the Sponsor purchased 657,500 Placement
Units and Cantor purchased 152,500 Placement Units. Each Placement Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock (“Placement
Share”) and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Placement Warrant”). Each whole Placement Warrant is
exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. The proceeds from the Placement Units
were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business
Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Placement Units will be used to fund the redemption
of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law), and the Placement Units and all underlying securities will
expire worthless.
NOTE
5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder
Shares
During
the period ended December 31, 2019, the Sponsor purchased 7,187,500 shares (the “Founder Shares”) of the Company’s
Class B common stock for an aggregate price of $25,000. The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A common
stock upon consummation of a Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to certain adjustments, as described in Note
7. On August 13, 2019 and September 16, 2019, the Company effected a 1.1 for 1 stock dividend and a 1.109091 for 1 stock dividend,
respectively, for each share of Class B common stock outstanding, resulting in an aggregate of 8,768,750 Founder Shares issued
and outstanding. All share and per share amounts were retroactively restated.
The
Founder Shares included an aggregate of up to 1,143,750 shares subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’
over-allotment option was not exercised in full or in part, so that the Sponsor would own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the
Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (excluding Placement Shares underlying the Placement
Units). In connection with the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option and the forfeiture of the remaining
over-allotment option, 18,750 Founder Shares were forfeited and 1,125,000 Founder Shares are no longer subject to forfeiture,
resulting in an aggregate of 8,750,000 Founder Shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.
F- 12
APEX
TECHNOLOGY ACQUISITION CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2020
The
Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares until the earlier
to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination or (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the
last sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends,
reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least
150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange
or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares
of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Related
Party Loans
On
June 25, 2019, the Sponsor loaned the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering
(the “Promissory Note”). The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of December 31, 2019
or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. Outstanding borrowings amounting to $275,000 under the Promissory Note were
repaid upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering.
In
addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the
Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may
be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the
Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would
be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company
may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust
Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if
any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either
be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000
of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into units upon consummation of the Business Combination at a price of $10.00
per unit. The units would be identical to the Placement Units. There are no borrowings outstanding as of December 31, 2020 and
2019.
Administrative
Support Agreement
The
Company entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on September 16, 2019 through the earlier of the Company’s consummation
of a Business Combination and its liquidation, the Company will pay an affiliate of the Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for
office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. For the year ended December 31, 2020 and for the period from
April 5, 2019 (inception) through December 31, 2019, the Company incurred and paid $180,000 and $50,500 in fees for these services,
respectively.
NOTE
6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks
and Uncertainties
Management
continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the
virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, search for a target
company, and/or closing of the AvePoint Business Combination, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date
of these consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might
result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration
Rights
Pursuant
to a registration rights agreement entered into on September 16, 2019, the holders of the Founder Shares, Placement Units (including
securities contained therein) and units (including securities contained therein) that may be issued upon conversion of Working
Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuab
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.