Item 1. Business
Item 1. BUSINESS
General
We are a blank check company incorporated as an exempt company under the laws of the Cayman Islands for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to as our initial business combination. We have not commenced any operations nor generated any revenues to date. All activity for the period from April 23, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2025, relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering” or “IPO”) described below. We have generated no operating revenues to date, and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until we consummate our initial business combination. We are also an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies.
While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we are focused on businesses in industries that complement our management team’s background, and we intend to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business, focusing on the travel and transportation industries where our management has extensive investment experience.
Our sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company, which was formed to invest in our company. Although our sponsor is permitted to undertake any activities permitted under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act and other applicable law, our sponsor’s business is focused on investing in our company. Mr. Hemmeter, our Co-Chief Executive Officer and Co-President, and Mr. Farrell, our Co-Chief Executive Officer, Co-President and Chief Financial Officer, are each a manager of our sponsor, and as such, each has control over the management of our sponsor and voting and investment discretion over the securities held by our sponsor. As of the date of this report, other than Messrs. Farrell and Hemmeter, no other person has a direct or indirect material interest in our sponsor. Messrs. Farrell and Hemmeter indirectly own membership interests in our sponsor, which together represent approximately 100%, and 50% and 50%, respectively of the economic interests in our sponsor. In addition, our sponsor has transferred 25,000 founder shares to each of our independent directors for their services as a director. Except in certain limited circumstances, no member of the sponsor may sell, transfer, assign, pledge, mortgage, charge, hypothecate, exchange or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, all or any portion of its membership interests in the sponsor. Our sponsor is not controlled by and does not have any members who are, or has substantial ties with, a non-U.S. person.
On May 16, 2025, we consummated our IPO of 20,125,000 units (the “Units”), which included the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option to purchase 2,625,000 additional Units. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value (“Class A Ordinary Share”) and one right to receive one-tenth (1/10) of one Class A Ordinary Share upon the consummation of an initial business combination. The Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit.
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated a private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 362,500 units (the “Private Placement Units”) with the Sponsor, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating total proceeds of $3,625,000. The issuance of the Private Placement Units was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
The net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering, together with certain of the proceeds from the private placement, totaling $201,250,000 in the aggregate, were placed in a U.S.-based trust account maintained by Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, acting as trustee, established for the benefit of the Company’s public shareholders. The remaining proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement are held outside the Trust Account. Such funds are being used primarily to enable us to identify a target and to negotiate and consummate our initial Business Combination. Except for the permitted withdrawals, none of the funds held
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in the trust account will be released until the earliest of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window, subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of our public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 have not consummated an initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. We presently have no revenue and have had losses since the inception from incurring formation and operating costs. We have relied upon the sale of our securities and loans from the Sponsor and other parties to fund our operations.
On July 2, 2025, holders of the Company’s Units could elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and rights included in its Units. The Class A ordinary shares and rights that are separated will trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “TVAI” and “TVAIR,” respectively. Those units not separated will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “TVAIU.” Holders of units will need to have their brokers contact the Company’s transfer agent in order to separate the holders’ Units into Class A ordinary shares and rights.
The funds in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the trust account. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned in the trust account (which interest shall be net of permitted withdrawals), if any, to complete our initial business combination.
Business Strategy
Our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses are not limited to a particular geographic region. We may pursue an initial business combination in any business or industry but have focused on a target in an industry where we believe our management team and Founders’ expertise will provide us with a competitive advantage, specifically focusing on the travel and transportation industries where our management has extensive investment experience.
We intend to capitalize on the strength of our management team. Our team consists of experienced professionals and senior operating executives. Collectively, our officers and directors have decades of experience in operating companies. We believe we will benefit from their accomplishments, and specifically their current and recent activities with companies in identifying attractive acquisition opportunities. However, there is no assurance that we will complete a business combination.
We believe that the members of our management team and board of directors have valuable and applicable experience for sourcing and analyzing potential acquisition candidates across various industries and on an international basis based upon their professional experience. Our team has over 50 years of combined investing, financial and operating experience. In addition to our experience running Thayer Ventures for over 15 years, our team has experience starting and running businesses and as Board members. Christopher Hemmeter successfully launched and ran six companies prior to raising Thayer Ventures, and Mark E. Farrell brings experience as a lawyer, investment banker and in public service prior to Thayer, and Ren Riley brings experience as a private equity investor and investment advisor. They have collectively sat on multiple corporate boards; Mr. Farrell has served as a director of another SPAC, and Mr. Riley was Chief Operating Officer of a different SPAC, serving on the management team through its initial business combination.
All of our directors and officers, except for Mr. Ghoorah, also served as directors of Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corporation (NASDAQ: TVAC), a special purpose acquisition company targeting businesses in the
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travel and transportation technology sectors. TVACU raised $172.5 million in its IPO in October 2020 and consummated a business combination with Inspirato LLC, a luxury travel subscription company. The business combination closed on June 30, 2021 and Thayer Ventures Acquisition Corporation was renamed Inspirato Incorporated (“Inspirato”) (NASDAQ: ISPO). In connection with the combination, Thayer, Inspirato and other parties, entered into a Business Combination Agreement which provided for binding subscriptions to purchase an aggregate of 10,350,385 shares of Thayer Class A Common Stock at $10.00 per share. The transaction resulted in gross proceeds to the ISPO in an aggregate amount of approximately $103,503,850. Additionally, in connection with the combination, holders of 16,993,592 out of 17,250,000 shares of the Thayer’s Class A Common Stock exercised their right to redeem those shares for cash at a price of approximately $10.20 per share, for an aggregate of approximately $173.3 million.
As our management and directors are not involved in the SPACs that are actively seeking for targets, we believe their fiduciary duties or contractual obligations with other SPAC companies will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Investment Criteria
Our management team intends to focus on creating shareholder value by leveraging its experience in the management, operation and financing of businesses to improve the efficiency of operations while implementing strategies to scale revenue organically and/or through acquisitions. Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We have focused and will focus on these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
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Companies that operate in segments of the market that are ripe for technological disruption or are currently undergoing technological transformations . We plan to focus on sectors that are in the process of or have significant potential to change their distribution or supply chains, consumer and business buying behavior or in other ways which are witnessing technology or business model disruption.
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Companies with an attractive and defensible competitive position . We will target companies with market positions and technologies that we believe offer long-term competitive advantages. These could include proprietary technology, a market leading product suite, unique processes, strong market share, or a culture of innovation that we believe is enduring and unique.
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Companies with high revenue growth, or with the potential for high revenue growth . We will seek to acquire businesses that have or are believed to achieve significant revenue growth primarily driven by either adopting or providing an innovative service or technology and which address large addressable markets that have not been substantially penetrated to date.
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Companies that exhibit the ability to deliver significant operating leverage and future profitability whether they may or may not be profitable currently . We will seek to acquire businesses that have either high gross margins today relative to their industries or, through their business model or technology, have the ability to improve margins; and by addressing a large market, have the opportunity to drive significant future profitability when fully scaled.
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Knowledgeable and innovative management teams with relevant industry experience and ability to rapidly develop their technologies and businesses . We aim to target businesses with expert management teams that have specialized knowledge of their respective industry sector and are active leaders in developing or deploying technology to provide a solution for a problem or challenge within their respective industry sector.
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Benefit from being a public company . We intend to acquire a company that will benefit from being publicly traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company.
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These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. While we intend to target the industry segments described above, we are not, however, required to complete our initial business combination with a travel or transportation technology business and, as a result, we may pursue a business combination outside of that industry. We will seek to acquire businesses that we believe are fundamentally sound but would benefit from a public listing to execute their financial, operational, and strategic plans.
Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
Certain members of our management team have spent significant portions of their careers working with businesses in the travel and transportation industry and have developed a wide network of professional services contacts and business relationships in that industry. The members of our board of directors also have significant executive management and public company experience with travel and transportation companies. Our process of identifying acquisition targets has leveraged and will continue to leverage our management team’s unique industry experiences, proven deal sourcing capabilities and broad and deep network of relationships in numerous industries, including executives and management teams, private equity groups and other institutional investors, large business enterprises, lenders, investment bankers and other investment market participants, restructuring advisors, consultants, attorneys and accountants, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. We expect that the collective experience, capability and network of our founders, directors and officers, combined with their individual and collective reputations in the investment community, will help to create prospective business combination opportunities.
In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates may be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and private investment funds. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read the reports we have filed with the SEC and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates of which they become aware through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions.
While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of a finder’s fee is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation by the company prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated acquisition of such target by us.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transactions with affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination and such transaction was
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approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking that is a member of FINRA or an independent valuation or accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares or other equity interests in the target business for our ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering process, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, roadshow and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriter’s ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may have negative view of us since we are a blank check company without an operating history and there is uncertainty relating to our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination and retain sufficient funds in our trust account in connection therewith.
Financial Position
We consummated our initial public offering on May 16, 2025. As of December 31, 2025, we had $206,357,012 in investments held in the trust account. Following the closing of our initial public offering, we had $201,250,000 in investments held in the trust account assuming no redemptions and before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination. With funds available for a business combination in trust account, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Additionally, because we are a public company or because a target business may be an attractive investment opportunity for third parties or be financially financeable through a third-party traditional lender, we may be able to obtain additional financing from third parties in financing to satisfy cash needs of any target and its shareholders. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or additional financings or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business and its shareholders to fit their needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
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Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO, the private placements of the private units, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial business combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a meeting of our shareholders called to approve the business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under the law of the Cayman Islands law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the company. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement.
We have until the date that is 21 months from the closing of the IPO or until such earlier termination date as our board of directors may approve, to consummate our initial business combination. We may seek the approval of our shareholders at any time to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the amount of time we will have to complete an initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders will be offered an opportunity to redeem their public shares. There are no limitations on the length of any such extension and no limit on the number of extensions that we may seek.
If we do not complete an initial business combination within the completion window and we do not otherwise seek shareholder approval to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the time to complete an initial business combination, the founder shares and private units may expire worthless, except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account.
Any such payments from our sponsor to extend the time frame would be made in the form of a loan from our sponsor to the company. The final and definitive terms of the loan in connection with any such loans have not yet been negotiated, but any such loan would be interest free and not repaid unless and until we complete a
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business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would expect to repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us following any redemptions of our public shares or from funds which may be raised in any subsequent capital financing transaction which may be undertaken in connection with the completion of a business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors. In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
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subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and
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cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
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Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that such additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
The Nasdaq rules and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held in trust and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of the fair market value test. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public shareholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, or we are considering an initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”), or an independent valuation or accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the prior owners of the target business, the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, including an Affiliated Joint Acquisition as described above. but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post- transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
While we do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination, other than funds available from loans from our
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sponsor, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we raise additional funds through equity or convertible debt issuances, our public shareholders may suffer significant dilution, and these securities could have rights that rank senior to our public shares. This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the founder shares result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the founder shares at the time of our initial business combination. If we raise additional funds through the incurrence of indebtedness, such indebtedness would have rights that are senior to our equity securities and could contain covenants that restrict our operations. Further, due to the anti-dilution rights of our founder shares, our public shareholders may incur material dilution. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private units, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to an Affiliated Joint Transaction or any forward purchase agreements, backstop or similar agreements we may enter into. We have not yet entered into or pursued an Affiliated Joint Acquisition or any such forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements, and we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. Such issuances could also result in additional transaction costs related to our initial business combination compared to a traditional initial public offering, including the placement fees associated with the engagement of a placement agent in connection with PIPE financings. Such financing arrangement would be intended to ensure a return on investment to the investors in return for facilitating our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, founders, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our sponsor, founders officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, stating that the consideration to be paid by us in such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Members of our management team and our independent directors will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement units following the initial public offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. The low price that our sponsor, executive officers and directors (directly or indirectly) paid for the founder shares creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public shareholders. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within
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21 months from the closing of the initial public offering, or by such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve, the founder shares and private placement units may expire worthless, except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the trust account, which could create an incentive for our sponsor, executive officers and directors to complete a transaction even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public shareholders. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
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we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) ordinary shares that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of Class A ordinary shares then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding;
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any of our directors, officers or substantial shareholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; or
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the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control.
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
•
the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company;
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the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote;
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the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination;
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other time and budget constraints of the company; and
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additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders.
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
In the event 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, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares out side of the redemption offer in compliance with the conditions set forth in SEC Tender Offer Rules and Schedules Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation 166.01 in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of
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our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares such persons may purchase. 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. In the event our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates determine to make any such purchases at the time of a shareholder vote relating to our initial business combination, such purchases could have the effect of influencing the vote necessary to approve such transaction. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. We have adopted an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) to clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our sponsor, founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such transactions could be to (i) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, or (ii) 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 may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to
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be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates is restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. We expect any such purchases would be reported by such person pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Additionally, in the event our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates were to purchase public shares from public shareholders, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
•
our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates may purchase shares or rights from public shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases;
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if our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates were to purchase public shares from public shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process;
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our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction;
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our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and
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we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the business combination transaction, the following material items:
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the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates, along with the purchase price;
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the purpose of the purchases by our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates;
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the impact, if any, of the purchases by our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved;
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the identities of our security holders who sold to our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our management team, sponsor or any of their respective affiliates; and
•
the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer.
Please see “Risk Factors — If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public shareholders, in which case they may influence a vote in favor of a proposed business combination that you do not support.”
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the
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aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares are not subject to reduction by deferred underwriting commissions. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, private placement shares and any public shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company (other than with a 90% subsidiary of ours) and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement and we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons.
The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by a special resolution of our shareholders, which is a resolution passed by at least two-thirds of the shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or by proxy at a general meeting of the company and includes a unanimous written resolution.
If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a general meeting, we will:
•
conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and
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file proxy materials with the SEC.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
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In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, unless otherwise required by applicable law, regulation or stock exchange rules, we will complete our initial business combination only if we receive approval pursuant to an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a simple majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination (except that any public shares such parties may purchase in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction). For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares and representative shares, we would need 5,652,085, or 32.3%, of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in the Initial Public Offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Assuming that the holders of only one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares are present in person or by proxy, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and all such shares are voted, we would not need any of the 17,500,000 public shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. However, if our initial business combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial business combination will require a special resolution, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the company. These quorum and voting thresholds and the agreement of our initial shareholders may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction, or whether they do not vote or abstain from voting on the proposed transaction, or whether they were a public shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption Upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption 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 amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from
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redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our public shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in the IPO, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in the IPO) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, they could sell their shares in the open market before actually delivering their shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore,
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if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until the end of the completion window.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if No Initial Business Combination
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we have until 21 months from the closing of the IPO, or until such earlier termination date as our board of directors may approve, to complete an initial business combination. We may seek the approval of our shareholders at any time to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the amount of time we will have to complete an initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders will be offered an opportunity to redeem their public shares. There are no limitations on the length of any such extension and no limit on the number of extensions that we may seek. Our initial shareholders, executive officers, and directors have agreed that they will not propose any such amendment unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we have only until the end of the completion window to consummate an initial business combination. If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window, 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 (which interest shall be net of permitted withdrawals, and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) 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 to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our rights, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window.
Our initial shareholders have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they it not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify
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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 consummate an initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of permitted withdrawals), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsors, any executive officer, director or any other person.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the $3.4 million of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes or make other permitted withdrawals, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of the IPO, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account and any permitted withdrawals or expenses for the dissolution of the trust, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. The underwriter of our IPO has not and will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a 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
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amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less permitted withdrawals, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less permitted withdrawals, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (excluding our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to $1.38 million from the proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private units as well as permitted withdrawals with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors; however, such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such shareholder.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our public shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure that we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if 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 some or all amounts received by our public shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not consummate an initial business combination within the completion
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window, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 consummate an initial business combination within the completion window or with respect to any other provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination, or Certain Shareholder Votes to Amend Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association and If We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window.
REDEMPTIONS IN
CONNECTION WITH OUR
INITIAL BUSINESS
COMBINATION OR
CERTAIN SHAREHOLDER
VOTES TO AMEND OUR
AMENDED AND RESTATED
MEMORANDUM AND
ARTICLES OF
ASSOCIATION
OTHER PERMITTED
PURCHASES OF PUBLIC
SHARES BY OUR
AFFILIATES
REDEMPTIONS IF WE
FAIL
TO COMPLETE AN
INITIAL BUSINESS
COMBINATION
Calculation of redemption price
Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if
If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination within the completion window, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per share), including interest (which interest shall be net of permitted withdrawals, and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
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REDEMPTIONS IN
CONNECTION WITH OUR
INITIAL BUSINESS
COMBINATION OR
CERTAIN SHAREHOLDER
VOTES TO AMEND OUR
AMENDED AND RESTATED
MEMORANDUM AND
ARTICLES OF
ASSOCIATION
OTHER PERMITTED
PURCHASES OF PUBLIC
SHARES BY OUR
AFFILIATES
REDEMPTIONS IF WE
FAIL
TO COMPLETE AN
INITIAL BUSINESS
COMBINATION
$10.00 per share), including interest earned on the funds
such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M
held in the trust account (which interest shall be net of permitted withdrawals, and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination.
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going- private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
Impact to remaining shareholders
The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or certain shareholder votes to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable.
If the permitted purchases described above are made, there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us.
The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our sponsor, who will be our only remaining shareholder after such redemptions.
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contains provisions designed to provide certain rights and protections that apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders present in person or by proxy and voting at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a
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special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders present in person or by proxy and voting (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our initial shareholders may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
•
if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no 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 (which interest shall be net of permitted withdrawals and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) 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 in all cases subject to the requirements of other applicable law;
•
prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities (other than the Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares) that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on our initial business combination;
•
although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our executive officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view;
•
if a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
•
we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes paid or payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of execution of the definitive agreement for such business combination;
•
if our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within the completion window, or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon such approval 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 permitted withdrawals and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein; and we will not effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
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Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide 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. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide 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. 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.
In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will only consummate an initial business combination if our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets requirement. We have not entered into or pursued an Affiliated Joint Acquisition or any such forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements, and we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
The Companies Act permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required but, provided the approval of the required majority is obtained, any Cayman Islands exempted company may amend its memorandum and articles of association regardless of whether its memorandum and articles of association provide otherwise. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures and will require subscribers to provide information and evidence to verify their identity, address and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information and evidence as is necessary to verify the identity, address and source of funds of a subscriber.
In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information or evidence required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will
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be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited. We will not be liable for any loss suffered by a subscriber arising as a result of a refusal of, or delay in processing, an application from a subscriber if such information and documentation requested has not been provided by the subscriber in a timely manner.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any redemption payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment of redemption proceeds to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of their business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) a nominated officer (appointed in accordance with the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands) or the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised), if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) to the Financial Reporting Authority or a police constable or a nominated officer (pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands), if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and terrorist property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
By subscribing for shares, the subscriber consents to the disclosure of any information about them to regulators and others upon request in connection with money laundering and similar matters both in the Cayman Islands and in other jurisdictions.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding rights, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 25852 McBean Parkway Suite 508 Valencia, CA 91355. The cost for this space is included in the $30,000 per month fee that we pay an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two executive officers. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters, but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem
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necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that our officers or any other members of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
Corporate Information
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company incorporated on April 23, 2024. Our executive offices are located at 25852 McBean Parkway Suite 508 Valencia, CA 91355, and our telephone number is (415) 782-1414.
Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies wishing to conduct business outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act.
Potential Conflicts
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. See “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance — Conflicts of Interest” for additional details on such potential conflicts of interest. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer, among other persons, 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 (a) may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other or (b) the presentation of which would breach an existing legal obligation of a director or officer to any other entity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, our sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that any such potential conflicts would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities
Currently, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would recognize or enforce judgments of U.S. courts against us or such persons predicated upon the civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws or those of any U.S. state, or whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would entertain original actions brought in the Cayman Islands or in the United States or any state in the United States against us or our directors or officers that are predicated upon the federal securities laws of the United States or the securities laws of any state in the United States. In addition, there is uncertainty as to whether the courts of the Cayman Islands would, in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed
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by those provisions are penal in nature. As a result, it may be difficult to effect service of process upon these officers and directors who reside outside of the United States. Even with effective service of process, it may also be difficult to enforce in U.S. courts judgments obtained in U.S. courts based on the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws against the officers and directors.
Periodic Reporting
We have registered our units, ordinary shares and rights under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet Website is located at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, we will provide copies of these documents by contacting us at the address, telephone number or facsimile number as described above. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, U.S. GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with 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 statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the Prescribed Time Frame. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our ordinary shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30 th , and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
Summary of Risk Factors
Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in the section title “Risk Factors,” that represent challenges that we face in connection with the successful implementation of our strategy. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may adversely affect our ability to effect a business combination, and may have an adverse effect on our business, cash flows, financial condition and results of operations. This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report. You should read this entire Annual Report carefully, including the information under “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report, before investing.
General Risks to Investing in a SPAC entity and Completing a Business Combination
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We have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective;
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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;
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We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings;
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We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all;
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The fact that our sponsor has substantial ties with a non-U.S. person could impact our ability to complete our initial business combination;
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A majority of our executive officers and directors being located in or having significant ties to China, it may subject us to further risks;
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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;
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote;
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•
Our sponsor has the right to extend the term we have to consummate our initial business combination, without providing our shareholders with redemption rights;
•
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;
•
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;
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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 $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our rights will expire worthless;
•
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, directors and officers may be amended without shareholder approval;
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We may approve an amendment or waiver of the letter agreement that would allow our sponsor to directly, or members of our sponsor to indirectly, transfer founder shares and private placement units in a transaction in which the sponsor removes itself as our sponsor before identifying a business combination, which may deprive us of key personnel;
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our ordinary shares;
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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;
•
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 or reduce protections under NASDAQ rules available to them;
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You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies;
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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;
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If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption, and our rights will expire worthless;
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If the net proceeds of the initial public offering not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 12 months (or up to 18 months from the closing of the initial public offering if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination, as described in more detail in this Annual Report), we may be unable to complete our initial business combination;
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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 $10.00 per share;
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If we are unable to consummate our initial business combination within 21 months of the closing of the IPO (as described in more detail in this Annual Report), our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 21 before redemption from our trust account;
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•
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;
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.