Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
This Annual Report contains forward-looking information based on our current expectations. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below together with all of the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing at the end of this Annual Report, before deciding whether to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
We are a Cayman Islands exempted 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 Cayman Islands exempted 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 have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning an initial business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that states that the Company lacks the capital resources that are needed to fund its operations for a reasonable period of time, which is generally considered to be one year from the issuance of the financial statements. These matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans with regard to these matters are also described in Note 2 of the financial statements.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a shareholder vote at a general meeting to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a shareholder vote at a general meeting for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote), 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 shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section of this Annual Report entitled “Business — Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Unlike some other blank check companies in which the initial shareholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public shareholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed, subject to applicable securities laws, to vote their founder shares and private shares, as well as any public shares purchased in or after the Initial Public Offering, in favor of our initial business combination.
As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and private shares, we would need 3,481,251 or approximately 30.3%, of the 11,500,000 public shares sold in the Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted, including the EBC founder shares and private shares, and the over-allotment option is not exercised) or (ii) none of the 11,500,000 public shares sold in the
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Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment, to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming that only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised). Our founder shares and private shares represent 28.3% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of the Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary shareholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial shareholders agreed to vote their founder shares and private shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public shareholders.
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 shareholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you may not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder 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 shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders 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 the agreement for our initial business combination 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. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If the agreement for our initial business combination 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 share in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
Our search for an initial business combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by current global geopolitical conditions resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and conflicts in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the geopolitical instability resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict. In response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial
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Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine and to Israel, increasing geopolitical tensions among a number of nations. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and conflicts in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, particularly the escalation of the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Iran conflicts, and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel and its neighboring states and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing conflicts are highly unpredictable, they could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions and increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies. Additionally, any resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets. Any of the abovementioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the conflicts in the Middle East and Southwest Asia, particularly the escalation of the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Iran conflicts and subsequent sanctions or related actions, could adversely affect our search for an initial business combination and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial business combination. The extent and duration of the ongoing conflicts, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate an initial business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
Military or other conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Southwest Asia, including the recent military conflicts in Iran, or elsewhere and other disruptions to the equity or debt capital markets, 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.
Military or other conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, including the recent military conflicts in Iran, or elsewhere and other disruptions to the equity or debt capital markets, may lead to increased volume and price volatility for publicly traded securities, or affect the operations or financial condition of potential target companies, and to other company or industry-specific, national, regional or international economic disruptions and economic uncertainty, any of which could make it more difficult for us to identify a business combination target and consummate an initial business combination on acceptable commercial terms, or at all.
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.
Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have completed initial public offerings 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.
If our initial business combination involves a company organized under the laws of a state of the United States, it is possible a 1% U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our ordinary shares after or in connection with such initial business combination.
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 became law in the United States, which, among other things, imposes a 1% excise tax on the fair market value of certain repurchases (including certain redemptions) of shares by publicly traded domestic (i.e., United States) corporations (and certain non-U.S. corporations treated as “surrogate foreign corporations”). The excise tax will apply to share repurchases occurring in 2023 and beyond. The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. In addition, the U.S. Treasury Department and IRS have released preliminary guidance that would potentially cause a non-U.S. corporation’s U.S. subsidiaries to be subject to the Excise Tax with respect to any share repurchases made by the non-U.S. corporation under certain circumstances. On April 9, 2024, the Treasury issued proposed regulations on which taxpayers may rely until final Treasury regulations addressing the Excise Tax are published. On June 28, 2024, the Treasury finalized certain of the proposed regulations (those relating to procedures for reporting and paying the Excise Tax). On November 24, 2025, the IRS published final regulations and additional information relating to the application of the excise tax on repurchases of corporate stock.
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As an entity incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, the 1% excise tax is not expected to apply to redemptions of our ordinary shares, including redemptions related to extension votes, in a business combination in which we remain a Cayman Islands exempted company or otherwise (absent any regulations and other additional guidance that may be issued in the future with retroactive effect). However, in connection with an initial business combination involving a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible that we domesticate and continue as a U.S. corporation prior to certain redemptions and, because our securities are trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market, it is possible that we will be subject to the excise tax with respect to any subsequent redemptions, including redemptions related to extension votes or in connection with the initial business combination, that are treated as repurchases for this purpose (other than, pursuant to recently issued guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, redemptions in complete liquidation of the company). In all cases, the extent of the excise tax that may be incurred will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of our shares redeemed, the extent such redemptions could be treated as dividends and not repurchases, and the content of any regulations and other additional guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that may be issued and applicable to the redemptions. Issuances of shares by a repurchasing company in a year in which such company repurchases shares may reduce the amount of excise tax imposed with respect to such repurchase. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing company itself, not the shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The imposition of the excise tax as a result of redemptions in connection with the initial business combination or in connection with any extension of time to consummate an initial business combination could, however, reduce the amount of cash available to pay redemptions or reduce the cash contribution to the target business in connection with our initial business combination, which could cause the other shareholders of the combined company to economically bear the impact of such excise tax.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of our final prospectus for our Initial Public Offering captioned “Taxation — United States Federal Income Tax Considerations — U.S. Holders”) of our ordinary shares or rights, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception. Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our rights in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
The market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies is subject to continual change. Any increase in the cost of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity may need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. Any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The cost of run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a 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 shareholders.
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Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any other 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 shareholders may only receive $10.05 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us pursuant to permitted withdrawals (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation and dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further 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 shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public shareholders may only receive $10.05 per share or less in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or rights from public shareholders, which may make it more likely that we are able to consummate such initial business combination or reduce the public “float” of our ordinary shares or rights.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may purchase public shares or rights in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation or duty to do so. Any price paid for such securities may be less (but not more) than the amount a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. In the event that our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares.
Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or any of their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares or rights or not redeem their public shares. 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 securities in such transactions.
The purpose of any such transactions could be to (1) decrease the number of shares to be redeemed thereby leaving more cash available for the post-combination company or (2) 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. 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 ordinary shares or public rights and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
See “ Business - Permitted Purchases of Our Securities ” for a description of how our Sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
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If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for 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 shareholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, 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 shareholders 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 business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this Annual Report entitled “Business — Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination — Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights.”
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 rights, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders 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 public shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this Annual Report, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ 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 within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, for any reason, compliance with Cayman Islands law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing shareholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our Trust Account. In that case, public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond the 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering before they receive funds from our Trust Account. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or rights, potentially at a loss.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, 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 and have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units are immediately tradable as opposed to companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the 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. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see the section of this Annual Report entitled “Business — Comparison of Our Initial Public Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek shareholder 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 shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not restrict our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including excess shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the excess shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination. Accordingly, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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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 shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.
We expect 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, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these 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 local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. As a result, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share upon our liquidation. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section.
If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private units not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.05 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless.
We believe that, upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. If the available funds are not sufficient, we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business and we may be forced to liquidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share or less in certain circumstances on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share upon our liquidation. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section.
If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private 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 initial shareholders or management team to fund our search for a business combination 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 the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private units, only approximately $750,000 were available to us initially outside the Trust Account to fund our working capital requirements. However, the underwriters have agreed to make a payment to us in an amount equal to $125,000, or $143,750 since the over-allotment option was exercised in full, to reimburse us for certain of our expenses in connection with the Initial Public Offering. This reimbursement had the effect of increasing the proceeds available to us outside of the Trust Account. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our initial shareholders or their affiliates to operate, or we may be forced to liquidate. None of our initial shareholders nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the Trust Account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial shareholders or their affiliates 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 shareholders may only receive approximately $10.05 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section.
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We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination where a substantial majority of our shareholders seek redemption.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders have redeemed their shares.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share.
Our placing of funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses 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 shareholders, 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. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.
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 ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.05 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 vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below (i) $10.05 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 the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not 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. We have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.05 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors are required to indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our independent directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.05 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account 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 may choose not to do so. For example, they may determine that the cost of such legal action is too high relative to the amount recoverable or that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.05 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, 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 shareholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
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If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, 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 shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy 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 shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence under Cayman Islands law and may be liable for a fine of approximately $18,000 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector, or geographic region in which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
We may seek to complete a business combination with a target business in any industry or sector or geographical location. 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 revenues 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 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. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
Past performance by our management team, our advisors and our initial shareholders may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with our management team and our initial shareholders and their affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and our initial shareholders is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. The majority of our officers, directors and advisors have not had management experience with special purpose acquisition companies in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s, our advisors’ or our initial shareholders’ respective performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition 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 in this Annual Report 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 the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
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Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section.
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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our rights 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, 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 shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete 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 shareholders’ 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private units, up to $116,325,000 will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses. We intend to complete our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously. However, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive, and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
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solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property, or asset, or
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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 developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.
Risks Related to Our Securities
NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our units have been listed on NASDAQ and our ordinary shares and rights have been listed on NASDAQ on or promptly after their date of separation. 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 share price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally $15,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $15 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 400 round lot holders 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:
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a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
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reduced liquidity for our securities;
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a determination that our ordinary shares is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our 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;
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a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
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a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
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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 and eventually our ordinary shares and rights will be listed on NASDAQ, our units, ordinary shares and rights will be covered securities. Although the states are pre-empted 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. Additionally, 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.
We may issue additional ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 500,000,000 ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share and 100,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are currently 16,037,500 ordinary shares issued and outstanding. As a result, there will be 483,962,500 unissued ordinary shares available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the ordinary shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding rights. There are currently no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to: (i) receive funds from the Trust Account; or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended by way of a special resolution, which requires an approval of holders of two-thirds of the votes of our shareholders, who, being entitled to do so, attend and vote (whether in person or by proxy) at a general meeting or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or (B) with respect to any other material provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
The issuance of additional ordinary shares or preference shares:
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may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Initial Public Offering;
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may subordinate the rights of holders of ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our ordinary shares;
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could cause a change of control if a substantial number of our ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and
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may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, ordinary shares and/or rights.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Annual Report issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following the Initial Public Offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness prior to the business combination 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:
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default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
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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;
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our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;
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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;
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our inability to pay dividends on our ordinary shares;
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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 ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;
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limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
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increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and
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other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and EBC 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 ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the Initial Public Offering, holders of the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units and any units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such units and/or underlying securities. 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 ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our ordinary shares that is expected when the founder shares, EBC founder shares, private units and any units that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans are registered.
Our initial shareholders paid an aggregate of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.007 per founder share. As a result of this low initial price, our initial shareholders stand to make a substantial profit even if an initial business combination subsequently declines in value or is unprofitable for our public shareholders.
As a result of the low acquisition cost of our founder shares, our initial shareholders 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 shareholders. 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.
We may amend the terms of the rights in a manner that may be adverse to holders with the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding rights.
Our rights are issued in registered form under a rights agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as rights agent, and us. The rights agreement provides that the terms of the rights may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision. The rights agreement requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding rights in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the holders of the rights.
Our rights may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares and make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination.
We issued rights as part of the units sold in the Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment entitling the holders to receive an aggregate of 1,150,000 ordinary shares. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we issued as part of the private units rights entitling the holders to receive an aggregate of 43,750 ordinary shares. In addition, if our initial shareholders or their affiliates make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into working capital units, at the price of $10.00 per unit at the option of the lender. Such working capital units would be identical to the private units sold in the private placement.
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To the extent we issue ordinary shares to complete a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional ordinary shares upon conversion of the rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding ordinary shares and reduce the value of the ordinary shares issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our rights may make it more difficult to complete a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Prior to the Initial Public Offering, there has been no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
Prior to the Initial Public Offering, there has been no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore had no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision prior to the Initial Public Offering. Following the Initial Public Offering, 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.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include target historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or “GAAP”, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or “IFRS”, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Risks Related to Our Management
Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of such people could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team. The role of members of our management team in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some members of our management team may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition 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.
Members of our management team 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.
Members of our management team may be able to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. 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. We cannot assure you that any members of our management team will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of our management team will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
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Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses and may become officers or directors of other special purpose acquisition companies, such as Range II, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs and whether to present a target to us instead of our competitors. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors have fiduciary responsibilities to dedicate substantially all their business time to their respective affairs and their respective employers, including Range II. Additionally, these responsibilities may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses, including other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation. Tim Rotolo, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is also Chief Executive Officer of Lloyd Harbor Capital Management, an investment advisor. Andrew Kucharchuk, our Chief Financial Officer, serves as a consultant to us and to other public companies through Kujo Capital, LLC. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. 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; or if they have fiduciary duty to present a target company to our competitor instead of us, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this Annual Report entitled “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest.”
Our officers and directors 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.
Following the completion of the Initial Public Offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our officers and directors may become affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, such as Range II. Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities in the future 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 memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this Annual Report entitled “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our initial shareholders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our initial shareholders or their respective 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. 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 a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our initial shareholders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our initial shareholders or their respective affiliates. Our initial shareholders are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in the section of this Annual Report entitled “ Business — Sources of Target Businesses ” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our initial shareholders or their respective affiliates, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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Since our initial shareholders 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.
Our Sponsor has acquired an aggregate 3,833,333 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Prior to this initial investment in our company, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 25% of the outstanding shares after the Initial Public Offering (excluding the private shares and the EBC founder shares). The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our Sponsor and EBC have purchased an aggregate of 437,500 private units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($4,375,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closings of the Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment. The founder shares and private units will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Our initial shareholders have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares or private shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our initial shareholders. The personal and financial interests of our initial shareholders 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.
Our initial shareholders and other insiders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our initial shareholders own founder shares representing 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the private shares and the EBC founder shares and assuming they do not purchase any units in the Initial Public Offering). Simultaneously with the closings of the Initial Public Offering and the over-allotment, we issued 437,500 private units to our Sponsor and EBC and their designees. Accordingly, our initial shareholders and their affiliates may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any additional ordinary shares 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 ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by certain of our initial shareholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome.
Post Business Combination Risks
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 share 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. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares.
Our success will ultimately depend upon market acceptance of our products and services, our ability to develop and commercialize existing and new products and services and generate revenues, and our ability to identify new markets for its technology.
Ultimately, our success will depend on the acceptance of our products and services in the target markets. We are faced with the risk that the marketplace will not be receptive to our products and services over competing products and that we will be unable to compete effectively. We will face challenges of developing (or acquiring externally-developed) technology solutions that are adequate and competitive in meeting the requirements of next-generation design challenges.
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We cannot assure investors that the products and services of the company with which we conduct a business combination, or any future products and services will gain broad market acceptance. If the market for our products and services fails to develop or develops more slowly than expected, or if any of the services and standards supported by us do not achieve or sustain market acceptance, our business and operating results would be materially and adversely affected.
If we fail to adapt and respond effectively to rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards, changing regulations and payment methods, demand for product enhancements, new product features, and changing business needs, requirements or preferences, our products may become less competitive.
Regardless of our target business’ industry, it will likely be subject to ongoing technological change, evolving industry standards, changing regulations, and changing customer needs, requirements, and preferences. The success of our business will depend, in part, on our ability to adapt and respond effectively to these changes on a timely basis, including launching new products and services. The success of any new product and service, or any enhancements, features, or modifications to existing products and services, depends on several factors, including the timely completion, introduction, and market acceptance of such products and services, enhancements, modifications, and new product features. If we are unable to enhance our products or develop new products that keep pace with technological and regulatory change and changes in customer preferences and achieve market acceptance, or if new technologies emerge that are able to deliver competitive products and services at lower prices, more efficiently, more conveniently, or more securely than our products, our business, operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected. Furthermore, modifications to our existing platform, products, or technology will increase our research and development expenses. Any failure of our products and services to operate effectively could reduce the demand for our services, result in customer dissatisfaction and adversely affect our business.
Technology platforms may not operate properly or as we expect it to operate.
Technology platforms are expensive and complex, their continuous development, maintenance and operation may entail unforeseen difficulties including material performance problems or undetected defects or errors. We may encounter technical obstacles, and it is possible that we may discover additional problems that prevent our technology from operating properly. If our platform does not function reliably, we may not be able to provide any products or services. Errors could also cause customer dissatisfaction with us, which could cause customers to stop purchasing or working with us. Any of these eventualities could result in a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
New or changing technologies, could cause a disruption in our business model, which may materially impact our results of operations and financial condition.
If we fail to anticipate the impact on our business of changing technology, our ability to successfully operate may be materially impaired. Our business could also be affected by potential technological changes. Such changes could disrupt the demand for products from current customers, create coverage issues or impact the frequency or severity of losses, or reduce the size of the ultimate market, causing our business to decline. We may not be able to respond effectively to these changes, which could have a material effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
We may face additional and distinctive risks if we acquire a business in certain industries, such as technology.
Business combinations with businesses in certain industries, such as technology, may involve special considerations and risks. If we complete our initial business combination with a technology business, we will be subject to the following risks, any of which could be detrimental to us and the business we acquire:
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If we are unable to keep pace with evolving technology and changes in the technology services industry, our revenues and future prospects may decline;
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Any business or company we acquire could be vulnerable to cyberattack or theft of individual identities or personal data;
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Difficulties with any products or services we provide could damage our reputation and business;
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A failure to comply with privacy regulations could adversely affect relations with customers and have a negative impact on business; and
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We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and we may be subject to infringement claims.
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 technology businesses. 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.
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Risks Related to Acquiring and Operating a Business Outside of the United States
We may effect a business combination with a company located outside of the United States and if we do, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our business operations and financial results .
If we consummate a business combination with a target business located outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in the target business’ governing jurisdiction, including any of the following:
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rules and regulations or currency redemption or corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
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tariffs and trade barriers;
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regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
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longer payment cycles than in the United States;
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inflation;
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economic policies and market conditions;
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unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
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challenges in managing and staffing international operations;
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tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;
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currency fluctuations;
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challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
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cultural and language differences;
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protection of intellectual property; and
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employment regulations.
We cannot assure you that we would be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer.
We may not be able to complete an initial business combination with a U.S. target company since such initial business combination may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations and review by a U.S. government entity such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), or ultimately prohibited.
Our Sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company, and is not controlled by, nor has substantial ties with any non-U.S. person. Nevertheless, our initial business combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements by governmental entities, or ultimately prohibited. For example, CFIUS has authority to review direct or indirect foreign investments in U.S. companies. Among other things, CFIUS is empowered to require certain foreign investors to make mandatory filings, to charge filing fees related to such filings, and to self-initiate national security reviews of foreign direct and indirect investments in U.S. companies if the parties to that investment choose not to file voluntarily. In the case that CFIUS determines an investment to be a threat to national security, CFIUS has the power to unwind or place restrictions on the investment. Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on - among other factors - the nature and structure of the transaction, including the level of beneficial ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved. For example, investments that result in “control” of a U.S. business by foreign person always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. CFIUS’s expanded jurisdiction under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 and implementing regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020 further includes investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.”
If a particular proposed initial business combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit to CFIUS review on a voluntary basis, or to proceed with the transaction without submitting to CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the transaction. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our proposed initial business combination, impose conditions with respect to such initial business combination or request the President of the United States to order us to divest all or a portion of the U.S. target business of our initial business combination that we acquired without first obtaining CFIUS approval, which may limit the attractiveness of, delay or prevent us from pursuing certain target companies that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial business combination may be limited and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have similar foreign ownership issues. In addition, certain federally licensed businesses may be subject to rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership.
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The process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete our initial business combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within the applicable time period required under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including as a result of extended regulatory review of a potential initial business combination, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the Trust Account and as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such event, our shareholders will miss the opportunity to benefit from an investment in a target company and the appreciation in value of such investment.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, certain members of our management team will likely resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with our laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues, which may adversely affect our operations.
General Risk Factors
Unanticipated changes in our effective tax rate or challenges by tax authorities could harm our future results.
We may become subject to income taxes in various other jurisdictions in the future. Our effective tax rate could be adversely affected by changes in the allocation of our pre-tax earnings and losses among countries with differing statutory tax rates, in certain non-deductible expenses as a result of acquisitions, in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or in federal, state, local or non-U.S. tax laws and accounting principles, including increased tax rates, new tax laws or revised interpretations of existing tax laws and precedents. Increases in our effective tax rate would adversely affect our operating results. In addition, we may be subject to income tax audits by various tax jurisdictions throughout the world. The application of tax laws in such jurisdictions may be subject to diverging and sometimes conflicting interpretations by tax authorities in these jurisdictions. Although we believe our income tax liabilities are reasonably estimated and accounted for in accordance with applicable laws and principles, an adverse resolution of one or more uncertain tax positions in any period could have a material impact on the results of operations for that period.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the U.S. courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs will be governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are not as clearly established as what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a less developed body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a federal court of the United States. As a result, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited. You should consider these factors carefully before deciding whether to invest in our securities.
We have been advised by Mourant Ozannes ( Cayman) LLP, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that it is uncertain whether the courts of the Cayman Islands will allow shareholders of our company to originate actions in the Cayman Islands based upon securities laws of the U.S. In addition, there is uncertainty with regard to Cayman Islands law related to whether a judgment obtained from the U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws will be determined by the courts of the Cayman Islands as penal or punitive in nature. If such
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determination is made, the courts of the Cayman Islands will not recognize or enforce the judgment against a Cayman Islands exempted company, such as our company. As the courts of the Cayman Islands have yet to rule on making such a determination in relation to judgments obtained from U.S. courts under civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws, it is uncertain whether such judgments would be enforceable in the Cayman Islands. Although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits of the underlying dispute based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, was not obtained by fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). The courts of the Cayman Islands will apply the rules of Cayman Islands private international law to determine whether the foreign court is a court of competent jurisdiction.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a U.S. company.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly.
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 and ability to consummate our initial business combination. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
On January 24, 2024, the SEC issued final rules (the “2024 SPAC Rules”), effective as of 125 days following the publication of the 2024 SPAC Rules in the Federal Register, that formally adopted some of the SEC’s proposed rules for SPACs that were released on March 30, 2022. The 2024 SPAC Rules, among other items, impose additional disclosure requirements in initial public offerings by SPACs and business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amend the financial statement requirements applicable to business combination transactions involving such companies; update and expand guidance regarding the general use of projections in SEC filings, as well as when projections are disclosed in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increase the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and could impact the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The 2024 SPAC Rules may materially adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete, and the costs associated with, our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our ordinary shares 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
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of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of the prior June 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
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:
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restrictions on the nature of our investments; and
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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:
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registration as an investment company;
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adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and
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reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
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 of 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 a 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 anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the Trust Account may only be held in demand deposit or cash accounts or invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 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. The holding of these assets in this form is intended to be temporary and for the sole purpose of facilitating the intended business combination. To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, which risk may increase the longer that we hold investments in the Trust Account, we may, at any time (and will no later than 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering) instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash or in an interest bearing demand deposit account. The interest we earn on such funds may be less than if we kept them invested as indicated above.
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. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The Trust Account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify (A) the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the Trust Account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares.
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We are aware of litigation against certain special purpose acquisition companies asserting that notwithstanding the foregoing, those special purpose acquisition companies should be considered investment companies. Although we believe that these claims are without merit, we cannot guarantee that we will not be deemed to be an investment company and thus subject to the Investment Company Act. 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 to be found to be operating as an unregistered investment company, we may be required to change our operations, wind down our operations, or register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. As a result, if we were to wind down our operations as a result of our change in status, this would have several negative consequences, including, but not limited to, loss of an investment opportunity in a target company, loss of any price appreciation in a combined company, and the rights will expire worthless.
Additionally, 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 a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.05 per share on the liquidation of our Trust Account and our rights will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.05 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “ — If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.05 per share ” and other risk factors in this section. If our facts and circumstances change over time, we will update our disclosure to reflect how those changes impact the risk that the Company may be considered to be operating as an unregistered investment company.
If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we could be forced to liquidate and investors in our company would not be able to participate in any benefits of owning stock in an operating business, including the potential appreciation of our stock following a business combination and our rights would expire worthless.
As indicated above, we have 18 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to consummate an initial business combination. It is possible that a claim in the future could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company. It is also possible that the investment of funds from the Initial Public Offering and private placement of units during our life as a blank check company, and the earning and use of interest from such investment, both of which will likely continue until we consummate an initial business combination, could increase the likelihood of us being found to have been operating as an unregistered investment company more than if we sought to potentially mitigate this risk by holding such funds as cash. Furthermore, the longer the funds are invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 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, the greater the risk could be that we are considered an investment company. If we are deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act and found to have been operating as an unregistered investment company, it could cause us to liquidate. If we are forced to liquidate, investors in our company would not be able to participate in any benefits of owning stock in an operating business, including the potential appreciation of our stock following a business combination and our rights would expire worthless.
Our rights agreement designates the courts of the State of New York located in the County of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our rights, as applicable, which could limit the ability of rights holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our rights agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the rights agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York located in the County of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and (ii) we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We have waived any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the rights agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our rights, as applicable, shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our rights agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the rights agreement, as applicable, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York located in the County of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our rights, as applicable, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions, and (y) having service of process made upon such right holder in any such action brought in such court to enforce the forum provisions by service upon such right holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such right holder.
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This choice-of-forum provision may limit a right holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Right holders who are unable to bring their claims in the judicial forum of their choosing may be required to incur additional costs in pursuit of actions which are subject to our choice-of-forum provisions. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our rights agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2025. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our 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 acquisition.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of 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 may not hold an annual meeting of shareholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to elect directors.
In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or general meetings of shareholders to appoint directors. Accordingly, until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In addition, as holders of our ordinary shares, our public shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors until after the consummation of our initial business combination. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, including in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry could adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations, either directly or through adverse impacts on certain of our vendors and customers.
Adverse developments that affect financial institutions, such as events involving liquidity that are rumored or actual, have in the past and may in the future lead to bank failures and/or market-wide liquidity problems. These events could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations, either directly or through an adverse impact on certain of our vendors and customers. There is no guarantee that, in the event of the closure of other banks or financial institutions in the future, depositors would be able to access uninsured funds or that they would be able to do so in a timely fashion.
To date, we have not experienced any adverse impact to our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations as a result of the events described above. However, failures of other banks or financial institutions may expose us to additional risks, either directly or through the effect on vendors or other third parties, and may lead to significant disruptions to our operations, financial condition and reputation. Moreover, uncertainty remains over liquidity concerns in the broader financial services industry. Our business may be adversely impacted by these developments in ways that we cannot predict at this time, there may be additional risks that we have not yet identified, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to avoid negative consequences directly or indirectly from any failure of one or more banks or other financial institutions.
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Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that the courts of the Cayman Islands will be the exclusive forums for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provides that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
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This choice of forum provision may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
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.