Melar Acquisition Corp. I/Cayman 10-K

Item 1A. Risk Factors. As a smaller reporting company under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act, we are not required to include risk factors in this Report. However, the following is a partial list of material risks, uncertainties and other factors that could have a material effect on us and our operations: · we are a blank check company and an early-stage 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 within the Combination Period; · 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 our 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; · our shareholders 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 our shareholders will have limited liquidity and trading; · our financial performance following a Business Combination with an entity may be negatively affected by their lack of an established record of revenue, cash flows and experienced management; · there may be more competition to find an attractive target for an initial Business Combination, which could increase the costs associated with completing our initial Business Combination and may result in our inability to find a suitable target; · changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial Business Combination; · 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; · we may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the Initial Public Offering, which may include acting as a financial advisor in connection with an initial Business Combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the Trust Account only upon completion of an initial Business Combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after the Initial Public Offering, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial Business Combination; 21 Table of Contents · we may attempt to complete our initial Business Combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all; · since holders of our Founder Shares will lose their entire investment in us if our initial Business Combination is not completed (other than with respect to any Public Shares they may acquire during or after the Initial Public Offering), and because our Sponsor, officers and directors may profit substantially even under circumstances in which our Public Shareholders would experience losses in connection with their investment, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular Business Combination target is appropriate for our initial Business Combination; · the value of the Founder Shares following completion of our initial Business Combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our Public Shares at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per Public Share; · resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the Combination Period, our Public Shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per Public Share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our Warrants will expire worthless; · we may not be able to complete an initial Business Combination with certain potential target companies if a proposed transaction with the target company may be subject to review or approval by regulatory authorities pursuant to certain U.S. or foreign laws or regulations, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States; · recent fluctuations in inflation and interest rates in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination; · adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, or our prospects; · military or other conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East or elsewhere may lead to increased volume and price volatility for publicly traded securities, or affect the operations or financial condition of potential target companies, which could make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination; · if our initial Business Combination involves a company organized under the laws of a state of the United States, it is possible the Excise Tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our Ordinary Shares after or in connection with such initial Business Combination; · cyber incidents or attacks directed at us or third parties could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss; · 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; · 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; and · to mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may, at any time (based on our Management Team ’ s ongoing assessment of all factors related to our potential status under the Investment Company Act), instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in an interest-bearing demand deposit account at a bank until the earlier of the consummation of our initial Business Combination or our liquidation. As a result of such transfer, we could receive less interest on the funds held in the Trust Account than the interest we would have received pursuant to our original Trust Account investments, which could reduce the dollar amount our Public Shareholders would receive upon any redemption or our liquidation. 22 Table of Contents We may seek to extend the Combination Period, which could reduce the amount held in our Trust Account and have adverse effects on our Company. If we are unable to consummate our Initial Business Combination on or before June 20, 2026, we may seek shareholder approval to extend the Combination Period by amending our Amended and Restated Charter. In such event, our Public Shareholders will be provided the opportunity to have all or a portion of their Public Shares redeemed. Any redemptions will reduce the amount held in our Trust Account, the effect of which may adversely affect our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination and may also impair our ability to maintain our Nasdaq listing. We anticipate that our securities will be suspended from trading on Nasdaq and delisted if we do not consummate our initial Business Combination by June 17, 2027. Any trading suspension or delisting could have a material adverse effect on the trading of our securities and may adversely affect our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination. Our IPO Registration Statement was declared effective by the SEC on June 17, 2024 and our securities are currently listed on the Global Market tier of Nasdaq. Pursuant to our Amended and Restated Charter, we have until June 20, 2026 to consummate our initial Business Combination. However, under the Nasdaq Rules, if a SPAC does not meet the Nasdaq 36-Month Requirement, the SPAC will be subject to a suspension of trading and delisting from Nasdaq. Under the Nasdaq Rules, a SPAC’s Nasdaq-listed securities will be immediately suspended from trading if the SPAC does not meet the Nasdaq 36-Month Requirement, and Nasdaq will, at such point, commence delisting procedures. Although a SPAC can request a hearing before the hearing panel of Nasdaq (the “Hearing Panel”), the scope of the Hearing Panel’s review is limited. If a SPAC completes a Business Combination after receiving a delisting determination by the staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq (a “Staff Delisting Determination”) and/or demonstrates compliance with all applicable initial listing requirements, the combined company can apply to list its securities on Nasdaq pursuant to the normal application review process. The Nasdaq Rules contain a list of deficiencies that would immediately result in a Staff Delisting Determination, which includes noncompliance with the Nasdaq 36-Month Requirement. Accordingly, were we to amend our Amended and Restated Charter to extend the date by which we are permitted to consummate our initial Business Combination, we would still need to consummate our initial Business Combination on or prior to June 17, 2027 in order to avoid a suspension of our securities from trading on and delisting from Nasdaq. If Nasdaq were to suspend our securities from trading and delist our securities, our securities could potentially be quoted on an over-the-counter market. Even if our securities are then quoted on an over-the-counter market, our Nasdaq suspension and delisting could have significant material adverse consequences, including: ● making our securities appear to be less attractive to potential target companies than the securities of an exchange listed SPAC; ● limited availability of market quotations for our securities; ● reduced liquidity for our securities; ● the possibility that our Class A Ordinary Shares would be deemed “penny stock,” which will require brokers trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; ● limited news and analyst coverage; and ● decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. In addition, if our securities are delisted from Nasdaq, trading in our securities, and offers and sales of our securities by us, may be subject to state securities regulation and additional compliance costs. The share price of the post-Business Combination company may be less than the Redemption Price (as defined below) of our Public Shares. Each Unit sold in our Initial Public Offering at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit consisted of one Public Share and one-half of one Public Warrant. Of the proceeds we received from the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement, $160,000,000 was placed in our Trust Account. We will provide our Public Shareholders the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination, and potentially upon the occurrence of certain other events prior to our initial Business Combination. We expect that the pro rata redemption price in any redemption will be approximately $10.27 per Public Share as of December 31, 2024 (the “Redemption Price”), representing a pro rata portion of our Trust Account without taking into account any interest or other income earned on such funds (less any withdrawals from such interest or income for taxes paid), 23 Table of Contents although the Redemption Price may be less in certain circumstances. As a result, Public Shareholders who own our Public Shares on a redemption date can anticipate receiving the Redemption Price in connection with a redemption for each Public Share that they choose to redeem. There can be no assurance that, after our initial Business Combination, our Public Shareholders would be able to sell their shares in the post-Business Combination company for the Redemption Price, or any higher price. We have not, as yet, identified a target and are therefore unable to provide any assurances as to its financial condition, business prospects or potential risks. It is therefore possible that the share price of the post-Business Combination company may decline below the Redemption Price. In recent years, the share prices of many post-Business Combination companies have fallen following a Business Combination. As a result, if our Public Shareholders continue to hold shares in the post-Business Combination company following our initial Business Combination, we cannot assure our shareholders that the trading price of such shares will be greater than the Redemption Price. Uncertainty in connection with certain international economic and political relationships, including the imposition of tariffs on international trade, political disputes, regulatory changes and other international matters could have a material adverse effect on our ability to identify potential targets and to consummate our initial Business Combination, and could adversely affect the financial performance of any target, either foreign or domestic. The international economic and political environment is dynamic and subject to change. There is currently significant uncertainty about the future economic and political relationships between the United States and a number of other countries. These uncertainties include, among other things, the potential imposition of protective tariffs on goods imported from other countries and reciprocal tariffs other countries may impose on United States products, political disputes that may affect relationships between the United States and other countries and the imposition of regulatory or other restrictions on trade and commerce. Any such matters could potentially limit the number of potential targets we may consider, and could also have a material adverse effect on the financial performance of such potential targets. Among other things, historical financial performance of companies affected by these international matters may not provide as accurate a barometer of future performance as would pertain in a more stable economic environment. For additional risks relating to our operations, other than as set forth above, see the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our IPO Registration Statement. Any of these factors could result in a significant or material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition. Additional risks could arise that may also affect our business or ability to consummate an initial Business Combination. We may disclose changes to such risk factors or disclose additional risk factors from time to time in our future filings with the SEC.