Velos Acquisition I Corp. 10-K

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2024. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) were effective, Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented. Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the fiscal quarter of 2024 covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. Item 9B. Other Information None . Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections. Not applicable. 49 Part III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance. Directors and Executive Officers Our directors and executive officers are as follows: Name Age Position Mohsin Y. Meghji 60 Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors Matthew Perkal 39 Chief Executive Officer and Director Eric Greenhaus 31 Chief Financial Officer Chris Chaice 54 Executive Vice President Charles Garner 62 Executive Vice President and Secretary Fred Arnold 71 Director Benjamin Fader-Rattner 43 Director Mohsin Y. Meghji serves as our Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Mr. Meghji was the principal sponsor of the Initial SPAC from 2015 to 2019, the Second SPAC from 2020 to 2023, the Third SPAC from 2021 to 2023 and the Fourth SPAC from 2021 to 2022. Mr. Meghji has served as the Managing Partner of M3 Partners since 2015 and is a nationally recognized U.S. turnaround professional with a track record of building value across a wide range of sectors, including power, energy and industrials. M3 Partners is a merchant banking, investment and restructuring advisory firm founded by Mr. Meghji which provides operational, strategic and financial advisory solutions to support complex businesses at inflection points in their growth trajectory. Mr. Meghji has more than 30 years of advisory and management experience in building value in companies that are facing financial, operational or strategic inflection points and transitions. He has accomplished this through both operating management and financial advisory roles, often in partnership with some of the world’s leading financial institutions, private equity firms and hedge fund investors. Mr. Meghji has led the repositioning of, and driven value creation at, numerous businesses over the past two decades in an operating management or financial advisory capacity. In his capacity as a restructuring and financial advisory professional, Mr. Meghji has served periodically as Chief Restructuring Officer (or in an analogous position) of companies which elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings as a part of their financial restructuring process and, as such, he served as an executive officer of various companies which filed bankruptcy petitions under federal law, including, without limitation, Mondee Holdings, Inc., True Value Company, L.L.C. and Zachry Holdings, Inc. in 2024, Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and Whittaker Clark & Daniels, Inc. in 2023, 245 Park Avenue Property LLC and 181 West Madison Property LLC in 2021, PWM Property Management LLC in 2021, Seadrill Partners LLC, Sable Permian Resources, LLC and Sanchez Energy Corporation in 2020, Barneys Inc. in 2019, and Sears Holdings Corporation in 2018. In that same capacity, Mr. Meghji also has periodically served as an independent director of companies, some of which similarly elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings, including Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing LLC from August 2017 through March 2018, Toys ‘r Us from September 2017 through September 2018, Full Beauty Brands from August 2018 through February 2019, Intelsat Envision Holdings from May 2020 through March 2022, Frontier Communications from 2019 through 2021 and SHOPKO from 2018 through 2019. Mr. Meghji’s most recent corporate management role was at Springleaf, a subprime consumer finance company (now known as OneMain Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: OMF)), where he served as Executive Vice President and Head of Strategy and as Chief Executive Officer of its captive insurance companies, Merit Life Insurance Co. and Yosemite Insurance Company, from 2012 to 2014. These insurance companies provided life, property and casualty insurance coverage to Springleaf’s customers. Springleaf was created in late-2010 when American International Group, Inc. sold 80% of its subsidiary, American General Finance Inc., to affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC. At the time of the sale, American General Finance Inc. provided consumer loans, retail financing and mortgages to more than one million families through more than 1,100 branches located across the United States, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom. After multiple years of operating losses, Springleaf turned profitable in 2013 as a result of the strategic, management and operational improvements implemented by its new ownership and management team, evidencing a significant turnaround in its performance. Springleaf went public in October 2013 at a $1.95 billion valuation. As part of its senior management team and Head of Strategy for the company, Mr. Meghji played a key role in this successful transition. 50 Matthew Perkal , who serves as our Chief Executive Officer and one of our directors, also served as an Executive Vice President of the Second SPAC and as Chief Executive Officer of the Third SPAC and the Fourth SPAC. Since 2010, Mr. Perkal has led Brigade’s industry coverage for various sectors including retail, consumer, gaming and lodging, and has structured and led many of the firm’s successful deals in the private credit space including Barney’s and Sears. Mr. Perkal currently serves on the board of directors for Guitar Center Inc.. He also served as a Director of Greenfire Resources Ltd. (NYSE: GFR) from the time of its merger with the Second SPAC in September 2023 through December 2024. In his capacity as a restructuring and financial advisory professional, Mr. Perkal served as an independent director of companies, some of which elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings, including Guitar Center from December 2020 through present and Gymboree from September 2017 through June 2020. Prior to joining Brigade, Mr. Perkal worked at Deutsche Bank as an Analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group from 2008-2010. In that capacity, Mr. Perkal also spent time on the Leveraged Debt Capital Markets Desk, selling both bank and bond deals. Mr. Perkal received a BS in Economics with a concentration in Finance and Accounting from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Eric Greenhaus serves as our Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Greenhaus has been employed by M3 Partners since March 2020, where he currently is a Director. During his tenure at M3 Partners, Mr. Greenhaus has provided restructuring advisory and performance improvement services, as well as assisting with SEC reporting and transaction modeling for the Second SPAC and the Third SPAC. Prior to joining M3 Partners, Mr. Greenhaus worked at KPMG in their Deal Advisory & Strategy department from March 2018 through February 2020. Mr. Greenhaus also worked at Deloitte as an audit associate from September 2016 to February 2018, during which he maintained a Certified Public Accounting license. Mr. Greenhaus has extensive experience auditing and analyzing financial statements, conducting financial due diligence, managing liquidity, creating financial and forecasting models, business planning, and advising senior executives on strategic initiatives. Mr. Greenhaus received a Master of Accounting from the University of Michigan in 2016 and a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Michigan in 2015. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Triton Financial Limited. Chris Chaice serves as our Executive Vice President and also served as an Executive Vice President of the Second SPAC and the Third SPAC. Since November 2012, Mr. Chaice has advised the Brigade investment team with respect to structuring investments, restructurings, bond and bank debt covenants, and litigations. Mr. Chaice served as a Senior Credit Attorney at Brigade from November 2012 until January 2021 and as Senior Attorney, Private Credit and Restructuring, from January 2021 until March 2022. In his capacity as a restructuring and financial advisory professional, Mr. Chaice served as an independent director of companies, some of which elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings, including Sanchez Energy Corporation from October 2023 through present. Since April 2022, Mr. Chaice has served as a Partner & Head of Distressed Research at Brigade. Prior to joining Brigade, from July 2008 to October 2012, Mr. Chaice worked at Covenant Review, a fixed-income research firm, where he analyzed debt covenants, complex capital structures, and bankruptcy issues. Additionally, from August 2006 to May 2008, Mr. Chaice worked as an Analyst at Southpaw Asset Management, where he analyzed event-driven investment opportunities relating to bankruptcies, restructurings, liquidations and litigation. Prior to Southpaw, Mr. Chaice practiced law at Cahill Gordon & Reindel from September 1999 to September 2005, and at Willkie Farr & Gallagher from September 2005 to August 2006, where he specialized in capital markets transactions, primarily representing underwriters of high yield bonds and leveraged loans. Mr. Chaice received a BA in Political Science from Syracuse University and a law degree, cum laude, from New York University School of Law. Charles Garner is an accomplished business and legal professional, with over 35 years of experience in M&A, corporate finance and business management. He was actively involved in all aspects of the business plan of the Prior SPACs, including formation, management and business combination activities. Mr. Garner joined M3 Partners in 2015 and currently serves as Senior Managing Director and General Counsel of M3 Partners. Mr. Garner began his career in 1987 as an attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, a leading international law firm, where he rose to become a partner in the corporate/banking group. Mr. Garner has served as Executive Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Island Capital Group LLC, a real estate-focused merchant banking firm, where he played key roles in the formation of Emirates National Securitisation Corporation (a joint venture with various entities of the Government of Dubai to create a mortgage securitization market in Dubai) and Island Global Yachting (a leading owner and operator of luxury and megayacht marinas). Among other positions, Mr. Garner also has served as Interim CEO of a European industrial software company focused on the utilities industry. Mr. Garner served as a director of IEA (with a short period of interruption) from March 2018 through its merger with MasTec, Inc. in October 2022 and served as the Chair of various Special Committees of independent directors of IEA in the review of financing and related transactions that led to the material increase in the equity and enterprise values of IEA during that period. 51 Frederick Arnold is a director. Mr. Arnold has over 40 years of experience in investment banking, corporate management and board governance. Mr. Arnold serves as a member of the boards of directors of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. since 2012 (and has served as Chairman of the Board since from January 2019), Pepco Group NV from June 2024 and Navient Corporation (NASDAQ: NAVI) since August 2018. He also has served as a director of Cyxtera Technologies, Inc. from April 2023 - January 2024, the Third SPAC from October 2021 - September 2023, Valaris PLC (NYSE: VAL) from November 2019 - April 2021, The We Company (and as a member of the New Committee) from June 2020 - July 2020, Corporate Capital Trust II from 2015 - 2016, Corporate Capital Trust (NYSE: CCT) from 2011 - December 2018 (Chairman 2017 - 2018), various members of the family of funds advised by FS/KKR Advisor, LLC (including FS KKR Capital Corp. (NYSE: FSK), FS Investment Corp II, FS Investment Corp. III and FS Investment Corp. IV) from December 2018 - November 2019, Syncora Holdings Ltd. (OTC BB: SYCRF) from September 2016 - January 2020, and CIFC Corp. (NASDAQ: CIFC) from 2011 - 2014. From 2015 - 2017, Mr. Arnold served as Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Convergex Group, LLC. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Capmark Financial Group Inc. from 2009 - 2011 and as Executive Vice President, Finance, for Masonite International Inc. from 2006 - 2007. From 2000 - 2004, Mr. Arnold served in various executive capacities for Willis Group Holdings and its subsidiaries, including as EVP of Finance, Development and Administration of Willis NA, and Group Chief Administrative Officer and Group Executive Vice President, Strategic Development, for Willis Group Holdings. Mr. Arnold began his career in investment banking at Lehman Brothers in 1980 and spent the following twenty years as an international investment banker, primarily at Lehman Brothers and at Smith Barney, where he served as Managing Director and Head of European Corporate Finance. Mr. Arnold earned a B.A. summa cum laude, in Economics from Amherst College, a MA in Jurisprudence from Oxford University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Benjamin Fader-Rattner is a director and has been a Managing Director at Nexus Capital Management LP since December 2023 where he focuses on credit opportunities. Prior to joining Nexus, Mr. Fader-Rattner led Space Summit Capital LLC, a special situations investment fund which he founded in January 2021. Previously, Mr. Fader-Rattner served as a director of the Third SPAC from October 2021 - September 2023 and he also served as President and a director of Osiris Acquisition Corp., a publicly listed special purpose acquisition company, from May 2021 - May 2024. Prior to founding Space Summit Capital LLC, Mr. Fader-Rattner was a Managing Director at Canyon Partners, where he led investments across the capital structure in several industries including retail and consumer, from 2008 to July 2020. Prior to Canyon, Mr. Fader-Rattner was an analyst at Glenview Capital in 2007, where he invested primarily in debt opportunities, an associate at The Carlyle Group from 2005 to 2007, where he focused on leveraged buyout transactions, and an analyst at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Fader-Rattner received a B.S. in Economics, summa cum laude, from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors Our board of directors consists of four members and is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Fader-Rattner will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Arnold will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Mr. Meghji and Mr. Perkal will expire at the third annual general meeting. Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint officers as it deems appropriate pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Director Independence Nasdaq rules require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our IPO. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person who, in the opinion of the Company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company). We have two “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq rules and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fader-Rattner are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present. Pursuant to Nasdaq’s phase-in rules for newly listed companies, we have one year from the date on which we were first listed on Nasdaq for a majority of our board of directors to be independent. We intend to appoint at least one additional independent director within the applicable time period. Committees of the Board of Directors Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board and has the composition and responsibilities described below. 52 Audit Committee Our board of directors has established an audit committee of the board of directors. Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fader-Rattner serve as the members of our audit committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fader-Rattner are each independent. Pursuant to Nasdaq’s phase-in rules for newly listed companies, we have one year from the date on which we were first listed on Nasdaq for our audit committee to be made up of three independent directors. We intend to appoint an additional independent director to our audit committee within the applicable time period. Mr. Arnold serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Arnold qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules. We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including: ● assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent registered public accounting firm; the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; ● pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; reviewing and discussing with the independent registered public accounting firm all relationships the independent registered public accounting firm have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; ● setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (1) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures and (2) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the independent registered public accounting firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities, within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; ● meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent registered public accounting firm, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “ Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations ”; reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and ● reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Compensation Committee Our board of directors has established a compensation committee of our board of directors. The members of our compensation committee are Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fader-Rattner, and Mr. Fader-Rattner serves as chair of the compensation committee. Under the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have a compensation committee of at least two members, all of whom must be independent. Mr. Arnold and Mr. Fader-Rattner are each independent. We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including: ● reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer’s based on such evaluation; ● reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to the compensation, and any incentive compensation and equity based plans that are subject to board approval of all of our other officers; ● reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; 53 ● implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; ● assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; ● approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; ● producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and ● reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and is directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC. Director Nominations We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or Nasdaq rules. In accordance with Rule 5605(e) (2) of the Nasdaq rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by our board of directors. Our board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Messrs. Arnold and Fader-Rattner. In accordance with Rule 5605(e)(1)(A) of the Nasdaq rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place. The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our shareholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for appointment at the next annual general meeting (or, if applicable, an extraordinary general meeting). Our shareholders that wish to nominate a director for appointment to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our board of directors considers educational background, variety of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation None of our executive officers currently serves, in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors. Code of Ethics We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees (the “Code of Ethics”). The Code of Ethics codifies the business and ethical principles that govern all aspects of our business. A copy of the Code of Ethics is attached as an exhibit to this Annual Report. If we make any amendments to our Code of Ethics other than technical, administrative or other non-substantive amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or Nasdaq rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. Insider Trading Policy We have adopted an insider trading policy which governs the purchase, sale, and/or other dispositions of our securities by directors, officers and employees and other covered persons and is designed to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, and listing standards applicable to the Company. A copy of our Securities Trading Policy is attached as Exhibit 19.1 to this Annual Report. Conflicts of Interest Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties: (i) duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the Company as a whole; (ii) duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; 54 (iii) directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; (iv) duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; (v) duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the Company and their personal interests; and (vi) duty to exercise independent judgment. In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the Company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director. As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders provided that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to at least one other entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other. 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. Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations: Individual Entity Entity’s Business Affiliation Mohsin Y. Meghji M-III Partners, LP Financial Advisory Services Managing Partner Matthew Perkal Brigade Capital Management, LP Guitar Center Inc. Investments Retailer Partner – Head of SPACs and Special Situations Board Member Eric Greenhaus M-III Partners, LP Financial Advisory Services Director Chris Chaice Brigade Capital Management, LP Investments Partner – Head of Distressed Research Charles Garner M-III Partners, LP Financial Advisory Services Senior Managing Director & General Counsel Frederick Arnold Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Navient Corporation Pepco Group NV Investments Consumer Lending Retailer Director & Current Chairman of the Board Director Director & Chairman of the Board Metropolitan Gaming Holdco Limited Gaming & Entertainment Director & Chairman of the Board Wittur International Holding GmbH Elevator Components Advisory Board Member Benjamin Fader-Rattner Space Summit Capital LLC Nexus Capital Management LP Financial Services Financial Services Managing Member Managing Director In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other SPACs 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 SPAC 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. 55 Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest: ● Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. ● Our initial shareholders currently hold founder shares and Private Placement Warrants. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into the Letter Agreement, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial business combination if we determine it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial business combination. Additionally, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (ii) the date following the completion of our initial business combination on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, share consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, the founder shares will be released from the lockup. The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because certain of our officers and directors will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they 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. ● 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. We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our officers or directors, the Sponsor Manager or the non-managing sponsor investors, or completing the business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our Sponsor, our officers or directors, the Sponsor Manager or the non-managing sponsor investors. In the event we seek to complete an initial business combination with a target that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our Sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or a valuation or appraisal firm 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. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Except as described herein, none of our Sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, will 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). However, we may pay consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors, our advisors, or their respective affiliates in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor. In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, and they and the other members of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and any shares purchased during or after the offering in favor of our initial business combination. The non-managing sponsor investors are not required to (i) hold any units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants they may have purchased in the IPO or thereafter for any amount of time, (ii) vote any Class A ordinary shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination. The non-managing sponsor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the Trust Account with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units they may have purchased in the IPO or thereafter as the rights afforded to our other public shareholders. 56 Item 11. Executive Compensation. Compensation Discussion and Analysis None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Further, we may pay consulting, success or finder fees to our independent directors, our advisors, or their respective affiliates in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. We may also engage our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as an advisor or otherwise in connection with our initial business combination and certain other transactions and pay such person or entity a salary or fee in an amount that constitutes a market standard for comparable transactions. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, executive officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made from funds held outside the Trust Account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the Company to our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination. After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors. We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment. Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters. The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of March 25, 2025. Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the Private Placement Warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Annual Report. 57 The beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares is based on 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares and 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares as of March 25, 2025. Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) Number of Class A Ordinary Shares Beneficially Owned Number of Founder Shares Beneficially Owned (2) Approximate Percentage of Total Voting Power M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC (our Sponsor) (3) - 7,187,500 20.0 % Mohsin Y. Meghji (3) - 7,187,500 20.0 % Frederick Arnold - - - Benjamin F. Rattner - - - Christopher Chaice - - - Charles H. F. Garner - - - Eric D. Greenhaus - - - Matthew Perkal - - - All officers and directors as a group (8 individuals) - 7,187,500 20.0 % Picton Mahoney Asset Management (4) 1,875,000 - 6.5 % The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (5) 1,990,041 - 6.9 % Magnetar Financial LLC (6) 2,450,250 - 8.5 % Ramya Rao (7) 1,862,500 - 6.5 % HGC Investment Management Inc (8) 1,500,000 - 5.2 % AQR Capital Management, LLC (9) 1,480,609 - 5.2 % MM Asset Management Inc. (10) 1,575,000 - 5.5 % First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund (11) 1,633,428 - 5.7 % Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. (12) 1,875,000 - 6.5 % (1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following is 1700 Broadway, 19 th Floor, New York, NY 10019. (2) Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. (3) M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC, our Sponsor, is the record holder of such shares. M3-Brigade Acquisition Partners V Corp. is the sole managing member of M3-Brigade Acquisition V LLC and holds voting and investment discretion with respect to the Class B ordinary shares held of record by M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC and Mohsin Y. Meghji is the sole officer and shareholder of M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. and holds voting and investment discretion with respect to the Class B ordinary shares held of record by M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC. Each of M3-Brigade Acquisition Partners V Corp. and Mohsin Y. Meghji disclaims any beneficial ownership of the securities held by M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC, other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly. (4) According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on February 11, 2025, interests shown are held by Picton Mahoney Asset Management, a company incorporated under the laws of Canada. The principal business address of Picton Mahoney Asset Management is 33 Yonge Street, #320, Toronto, Ontario M5E 1G4, Canada. (5) According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 14, 2025, by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, a New York limited liability company, and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation. The principal address of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282. The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is the parent holding company of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is a registered broker or dealer and a registered investment advisor. (6) According to a Schedule 13G filed on November 6, 2024, by (a) Magnetar Constellation Master Fund, Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company, (b) Magnetar Xing He Master Fund Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company, (c) Magnetar SC Fund Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company, (d) Purpose Alternative Credit Fund Ltd, a Cayman Islands exempted company, (e) Magnetar Structured Credit Fund, LP, a Delaware limited partnership, (f) Magnetar Alpha Star Fund LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, (g) Magnetar Lake Credit Fund LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and (h) Purpose Alternative Credit Fund - T LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (collectively, the “ Magnetar Funds ”). Magnetar Financial LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, serves as the investment adviser to the Magnetar Funds, and as such, Magnetar Financial LLC exercises voting and investment power over the ordinary shares held for the Magnetar Funds’ accounts. Magnetar Capital Partners LP, a Delaware limited partnership, serves as the sole member and parent holding company of Magnetar Financial LLC. Supernova Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is the general partner of Magnetar Capital Partners LP. The manager of Supernova Management LLC is David J. Snyderman, a United States citizen. The principal address of each of Magnetar Financial LLC, Magnetar Capital Partners LP, Supernova Management LLC and David J. Snyderman is 1603 Orrington Avenue, 13 th Floor, Evanston, Illinois 60201. 58 (7) According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 14, 2025, by Ramya Rao. The principal business address of Ramya Rao is 1 Churchill Place, London - E14 5HP. (8) According to a Schedule 13G filed on February 14, 2025 by HGC Investment Management Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of Canada, which serves as the investment manager to The HGC Fund LP, an Ontario limited partnership, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares held by HGC Investment Management Inc. on behalf of The HGC Fund LP. The principal business address of HGC Investment Management Inc. is 1027 Yonge St, Suite 301, Toronto, ON M4W 2K9. (9) According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on February 13, 2025, by AQR Capital Management, LLC, AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC and AQR Arbitrage, LLC. AQR Capital Management, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC. AQR Arbitrage, LLC is deemed to be controlled by AQR Capital Management, LLC. The principal address of AQR Capital Management, LLC, AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC and AQR Arbitrage, LLC is One Greenwich Plaza, Suite 130, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830. (10) According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on February 10, 2025, by MMCAP International Inc. SPC and MM Asset Management Inc. The principal address of MMCAP International Inc. SPC is c/o Mourant Governance Services (Cayman) Limited, 94 Solaris Avenue, Camana Bay, P.O. Box 1348, Grand Cayman, KY1-1108, Cayman Islands and MM Asset Management Inc. is 161 Bay Street, TD Canada Trust Tower, Suite 2240, Toronto, ON, M5J 2S1, Canada. (11) According to a Schedule 13G/A filed on November 14, 2024, by First Trust Merger Arbitrage Fund (“VARBX”), First Trust Capital Management L.P. (“FTCM”), First Trust Capital Solutions L.P. (“FTCS”) and FTCS Sub GP LLC (“Sub GP”). The principal business address of FTCM, FTCS and Sub GP is 225 W. Wacker Drive, 21st Floor, Chicago, IL 60606. The principal business address of VARBX is 235 West Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. As investment adviser to certain client accounts, FTCM has the authority to invest the funds of such client accounts in securities (including Class ordinary shares of the Issuer) as well as the authority to purchase, vote and dispose of securities, and may thus be deemed the beneficial owner of any Class A ordinary shares held in the client accounts. As of September 30, 2024, VARBX owned 1,633,428 Class A ordinary shares, while FTCM, FTCS and Sub GP collectively owned 1,899,510 Class A ordinary shares. FTCS and Sub GP may be deemed to control FTCM and therefore may be deemed to be beneficial owners of the Class A ordinary shares. No one individual controls FTCS or Sub GP. FTCS and Sub GP do not own any Class A ordinary shares for their own accounts. (12) According to a Schedule 13G filed on November 14, 2024 by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of Ontario, Canada, which serves as the investment advisor to Polar Multi-Strategy Master Fund, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“PMSMF”) with respect to the shares directly held by PMSMF. The principal business address of Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. is 16 York Street, Suite 2900, Toronto, ON, Canada M5J 0E6. Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence Founder Shares On March 15, 2024, our Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 7,178,500 founder shares. The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares, except that: ● prior to and/or in connection with the closing of our initial business combination, only holders of the founder shares will be entitled to vote on the appointment and removal of directors or continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend the constitutional documents of the company or to adopt new constitutional documents of the company, in each case, as a result of the company approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands); ● the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; ● the founder shares are entitled to registration rights; ● the founder shares are automatically convertible into our Class A ordinary shares in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights; 59 ● our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into the Letter Agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial business combination if we determine it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial business combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and Public Shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within the completion window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the completion window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account; and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination; and ● the non-managing sponsor investors are not granted any shareholder or other rights in addition to those afforded to our other public shareholders, and will only be issued membership interests in our Sponsor, with no right to control our Sponsor or vote or dispose of any securities held by our Sponsor, including the founder shares and the Private Placement Warrants held by our Sponsor. The non-managing sponsor investors are not required to (i) hold any units, Class A ordinary shares or public warrants they may have purchased in the IPO or thereafter for any amount of time, (ii) vote any Class A ordinary shares they may own at the applicable time in favor of our initial business combination or (iii) refrain from exercising their right to redeem their public shares at the time of our initial business combination. The non-managing sponsor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the Trust Account with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units they may have purchased in the IPO or thereafter as the rights afforded to our other public shareholders. The Company’s initial shareholders have agreed, pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreements entered into by our Sponsor and management team, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the completion of the initial business combination or (ii) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial business combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the Company’s initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares (the “Lock-up”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, share consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial business combination or (2) if the Company consummates a transaction after the initial business combination which results in the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares will be released from the Lock-up. Except in certain limited circumstances, no member of our Sponsor (including the non-managing sponsor investors) may sell, transfer, assign, pledge, mortgage, charge, hypothecate, exchange or otherwise dispose, directly or indirectly, of all or any portion of its membership interests in our Sponsor. Private Placement Warrants Our Sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters, purchased an aggregate of 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $8,337,500 or $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the IPO. Each Private Placement Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. Of those 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants, the Sponsor purchased 5,043,750 Private Placement Warrants and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. purchased 3,293,750 Private Placement Warrants. The non-managing sponsor investors purchased, indirectly through the purchase of non-managing sponsor membership interests, an aggregate of 4,250,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($4,250,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the IPO. In connection with each non-managing sponsor investor purchasing, through our Sponsor, the Private Placement Warrants allocated to it in connection with the closing of the IPO, our Sponsor issued membership interests at a nominal purchase price to the non-managing sponsor investors reflecting interests in an aggregate of 3,400,000 founder shares held by our Sponsor. Membership interests reflecting interests in the remaining 3,787,500 founder shares held by the Sponsor are held by the Sponsor Manager. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor or its permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants (i) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) will be entitled to registration rights and (iii) with respect to Private Placement Warrants held by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and/or its designees, will not be exercisable more than five years from the IPO in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8). 60 Related Party Loans Prior to the IPO, we issued a promissory note to the Sponsor, pursuant to which we could borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 (the “Promissory Note”). The Promissory Note was non-interest bearing and payable upon the earlier of (i) December 31, 2024 or (ii) the completion of the IPO. No amounts were borrowed under the Promissory Note and borrowings under the Promissory Note are not longer available. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to (except in the case of the committed Sponsor loans), loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans (which amount includes the committed Sponsor loans) may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of  $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. Except as set forth above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account Item 14 . Principal Accountant Fees and Services. The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, acts as our independent registered public accounting firm. The following is a summary of fees paid to Withum for services rendered. Audit Fees . During the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were approximately $114,000 for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the audit of our December 31, 2024 financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Audit-Related Fees. During the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render assurance and related services related to the performance of the audit or review of financial statements. Tax Fees . During the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024, our independent registered public accounting firm did not render services to us for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning. All Other Fees . During the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above. Pre-Approval Policy Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our IPO. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit). 61 Part IV Item 15 . Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. (a) The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K: (1) Financial Statements: Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID:100) F-2 Balance Sheet F-3 Statement of Operations F-4 Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Deficit F-5 Statement of Cash Flows F-6 Notes to Financial Statements F-7 to F-18 (2) Financial Statement Schedules: All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable. (3) Exhibits The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Exhibit Number Description 1.1 Underwriting Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, by and between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as representative of the underwriters (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 3.1 Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 4.1 Specimen Unit Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-279951), filed with the SEC on July 18, 2024). 4.2 Specimen Ordinary Share Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.2 to Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-279951), filed with the SEC on June 21, 2024). 4.3 Specimen Warrant Certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.3 to Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-279951), filed with the SEC on June 21, 2024). 4.4 Warrant Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 4.5* Description of Registrant’s Securities. 10.1 Letter Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, among the Company, its executive officers, its directors and M3-Brigade Sponsor V LP (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 62 Exhibit Number Description 10.2 Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.3 Registration Rights Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, among the Company, M3-Brigade Sponsor V LP and the Holders signatory thereto (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.4 Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and M3-Brigade Sponsor V LP (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.5 Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Cantor, Fitzgerald & Co. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.6 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Mohsin Y. Meghji (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.7 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Matthew Perkal (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.8 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Chris Chaice (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.9 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Eric Greenhaus (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.10 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Charles Garner (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.10 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.11 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Frederick Arnold (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.12 Indemnity Agreement, dated July 31, 2024, between the Company and Benjamin Fader Rattner (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.12 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 001-42171), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 6, 2024). 10.8 Promissory Note issued to M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC (formerly M3-Brigade Sponsor V LP) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File. No. 333-279951), filed with the SEC on June 5, 2024). 10.9 Securities Subscription Agreement between the Company and M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC (formerly M3-Brigade Sponsor V LP) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File. No. 333-279951), filed with the SEC on June 5, 2024). 14.1 Code of Ethics (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 14.1 to Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 (File. No. 333-279951), filed with the SEC on June 21, 2024). 19.1* Securities Trading Policy of the Company 24.1* Power of Attorney (included in the signature page of this Annual Report) 31.1* Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a). 31.2* Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a). 32.1** Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350. 32.2** Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350. 97.1* Policy relating to recovery of erroneously awarded compensation, as required by applicable listing standards adopted pursuant to 17 CFR 240.10D-1. 101.INS Inline XBRL Instance Document (the instance document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document) 101.CAL Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document 101.SCH Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document 101.DEF Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document 101.LAB Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document 101.PRE Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) * Filed herewith ** Furnished herewith 63 SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly cause this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. Date: March 28, 2025 M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. By: /s/ Mohsin Y. Meghji Name: Mohsin Y. Meghji Title: Executive Chairman of the Board POWER OF ATTORNEY KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Mohsin Y. Meghji and Charles Garner, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or his or her substitutes or substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof. Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.  Signature Title Date /s/ Mohsin Y. Meghji Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors March 28, 2025 Mohsin Y. Meghji (Principal Executive Officer) /s/ Matthew Perkal Chief Executive Officer and Director March 28, 2025 Matthew Perkal /s/ Eric Greenhaus Chief Financial Officer March 28, 2025 Eric Greenhaus (Principal Financial Officer and Accounting Officer) /s/ Frederick Arnold Director March 28, 2025 Frederick Arnold /s/ Benjamin Fader Rattner Director March 28, 2025 Benjamin Fader Rattner 64 M3-BRIGADE ACQUISITION V CORP. INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-2 Financial Statements: Balance Sheet F-3 Statement of Operations F-4 Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Deficit F-5 Statement of Cash Flows F-6 Notes to Financial Statements F-7 to F-18 F- 1 REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. Opinion on the Financial Statements We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2024, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s deficit, and cash flows for the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the financial statements). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2024, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Basis for Opinion These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. /s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2024. New York, New York March 28, 2025 PCAOB ID Number 100 F- 2 M3-BRIGADE ACQUISITION V CORP. BALANCE SHEET DECEMBER 31, 2024 Assets: Current assets Cash $ 821,188 Prepaid expenses, current 210,845 Other 41,250 Total current assets 1,073,283 Long-term prepaid expense 119,010 Investments held in Trust Account 294,617,243 Total Assets $ 295,809,536 Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit: Current liabilities Accrued offering costs $ 250,000 Accrued expenses 98,948 Advance from related party 378,757 Total current liabilities 727,705 Deferred underwriting fee payable 13,400,000 Total Liabilities 14,127,705 Commitments and Contingencies Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, 28,750,000 shares at redemption value of approximately $ 10.25 per share 294,617,243 Shareholders’ Deficit Preferred shares, $ 0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding — Class A ordinary shares, $ 0.0001 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding (excluding 28,750,000 shares subject to possible redemption) — Class B ordinary shares, $ 0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 7,187,500 shares issued and outstanding 719 Additional paid-in capital — Accumulated deficit ( 12,936,131 ) Total Shareholders’ Deficit ( 12,935,412 ) Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit $ 295,809,536 The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. F- 3 M3-BRIGADE ACQUISITION V CORP. STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 12, 2024 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2024 General and administrative costs $ 453,416 Loss from operations ( 453,416 ) Other income: Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account 5,679,743 Total other income, net 5,679,743 Net income $ 5,226,327 Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A ordinary shares 14,813,559 Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share, Class A ordinary shares $ 0.24 Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares 6,733,051 Basic net income per ordinary share, Class B ordinary shares $ 0.24 Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B ordinary shares 7,187,500 Diluted net income per ordinary share, Class B ordinary shares $ 0.24 The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. F- 4 M3-BRIGADE ACQUISITION V CORP. STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 12, 2024 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2024 Class A Ordinary Shares Class B Ordinary Shares Additional Paid-in Accumulated Total Shareholders’ Shares Amount Shares Amount Capital Deficit Deficit Balance – March 12, 2024 (inception) — $ — — $ — $ — $ — $ — Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor — — 7,187,500 719 24,281 — 25,000 Accretion for Class A ordinary shares to redemption amount — — — — ( 11,524,046 ) ( 18,162,458 ) ( 29,686,504 ) Sale of 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants — — — — 8,337,500 — 8,337,500 Fair value of Public Warrants at issuance — — — — 3,421,250 — 3,421,250 Allocated value of transaction costs to Class A shares — — — — ( 258,985 ) — ( 258,985 ) Net income — — — — — 5,226,327 5,226,327 Balance – December 31, 2024 — $ — 7,187,500 $ 719 $ — $ ( 12,936,131 ) $ ( 12,935,412 ) The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. F- 5 M3-BRIGADE ACQUISITION V CORP. STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 12, 2024 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2024 Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Net income $ 5,226,327 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: Formation costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares 5,454 Payment of operation costs through advance from related party 142,233 Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account ( 5,679,743 ) Changes in operating assets and liabilities: Other ( 41,250 ) Prepaid expenses ( 254,856 ) Accrued expenses 98,948 Net cash used in operating activities ( 502,887 ) Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Investment of cash into Trust Account ( 288,937,500 ) Net cash used in investing activities ( 288,937,500 ) Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid 282,500,000 Proceeds from sale of Private Placements Warrants 8,337,500 Payment of offering costs ( 575,925 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 290,261,575 Net Change in Cash 821,188 Cash – Beginning of period — Cash – End of period $ 821,188 Noncash investing and financing activities: Offering costs included in accrued offering costs $ 250,000 Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares $ 19,546 Deferred offering cost paid through advance from related party $ 161,525 Prepaid expenses paid by advance from related party $ 75,000 Deferred underwriting fee payable $ 13,400,000 The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements. F- 6 NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted corporation on March 12, 2024 . The Company was incorporated for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific Business Combination target and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target with respect to an initial Business Combination with the Company. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from March 12, 2024 (inception) through December 31, 2024 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on investments from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end. The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on July 31, 2024. On August 2, 2024, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 28,750,000 units (the “Units”), which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 3,750,000 Units, at $ 10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $ 287,500,000 , which is described in Note 3. The Company’s sponsor is M3-Brigade Sponsor V LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), formerly known as M3-Brigade Sponsor V LP, a Delaware limited partnership. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 8,337,500 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) to the Sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering, at a price of $ 1.00 per warrant, or $ 8,337,500 , which is described in Note 4. Of those 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants, the Sponsor purchased 5,043,750 Private Placement Warrants and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. purchased 3,293,750 Private Placement Warrants. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $ 11.50 per share. Certain institutional investors who are not affiliated with any member of management, the Sponsor or any other investor in the Sponsor provided approximately 50.1 % of the capital utilized by the Sponsor to purchase the Private Placement Warrants and, as a result, indirectly hold approximately 50.1 % of such warrants. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business Combination (less deferred underwriting commissions). Transaction costs amounted to $ 19,406,996 , consisting of $ 5,000,000 of cash underwriting fee, $ 13,400,000 of deferred underwriting fee (see additional discussion in Note 6), and $ 1,006,996 of other offering costs. The Company’s Business Combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80 % of the net balance in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the amount of deferred underwriting discounts held and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the signing an agreement to enter into a Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-Business Combination 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 (the “Investment Company Act”). There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a Business Combination. Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, on August 2, 2024, an amount of $ 288,937,500 ($ 10.05 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in the trust account (the “Trust Account”), which may only be held as cash or invested in (i) 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 or (ii) an interest bearing bank demand deposit account or other accounts at a bank. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any, the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (i) the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (ii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or by such earlier liquidation date as the board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”), subject to applicable law, or (iii) the redemption of the Company’s public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100 % of the Company’s public shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s public shareholders. F- 7 The Company will provide the Company’s public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial Business Combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (less taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations. The amount initially placed in the Trust Account upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering was $ 10.05 per public share. The ordinary shares subject to redemption were recorded at their redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering on August 2, 2024, in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In the event the Company seeks shareholder approval for the Business Combination, the transaction would require a majority of the issued and outstanding shares voted to be in favor of the Business Combination. The Company will have only the duration of the Completion Window to complete the initial Business Combination. However, if the Company is unable to complete its initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and, as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (less taxes payable and up to $ 100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment for the public shares and completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation or other distributions, if any), subject to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and subject to the other requirements of applicable law. The Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial Business Combination if the Company determines it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial Business Combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its Initial Business Combination or to redeem 100 % of the Company’s public shares if it has not consummated an Initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-Initial Business Combination activity; (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Completion Window and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account; and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of the initial Business Combination. The Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company (except for the Company’s independent auditors), or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or Business Combination agreement (except for the Company’s independent auditors), reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $ 10.05 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 $ 10.05 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). However, the Company has not asked the Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor has the Company independently verified whether the Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and the Company believes that the Sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot assure that the Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. F- 8 Liquidity and Capital Resources As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $ 821,188 in cash and working capital of $ 345,578 . In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with ASC 205-40 “Going Concern,” and through the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, as of August 2, 2024, the Company has sufficient funds for the working capital needs of the Company until a minimum of one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. The Company cannot assure that its plans to consummate an Initial Business Combination will be successful. The Company does not believe it will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating its business. However, if the estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to the initial Business Combination. NOTE 2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the accounting and disclosure rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Emerging Growth Company The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statement with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Use of Estimates The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company had $ 821,188 in cash and no cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024. Investments Held in Trust Account At December 31, 2024, the assets held in the Trust Account, amounting to $ 294,617,243 , were held in mutual funds composed of U.S. treasury securities. Investments in mutual funds are presented on the balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information. F- 9 Offering Costs The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A, “Expenses of Offering.” Offering costs consisted principally of professional and registration fees that were related to the Initial Public Offering. FASB ASC 470-20, “Debt with Conversion and Other Options,” addresses the allocation of proceeds from the issuance of convertible debt into its equity and debt components. The Company applies this guidance to allocate Initial Public Offering proceeds from the Units between Class A ordinary shares and warrants, using the residual method by allocating Initial Public Offering proceeds first to assigned value of the warrants and then to the Class A ordinary shares. The offering costs allocated to the Class A ordinary shares were charged to temporary equity and the offering costs allocated to the Public and Private Placement Warrants were charged to shareholders’ deficit as Public and Private Placement Warrants after management’s evaluation were accounted for under equity treatment. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to its short-term nature. Income Taxes The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized. The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740. ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2024, there were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months. The Company is considered to be an exempted Cayman Islands company with no connection to any other taxable jurisdiction and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the periods presented. Fair Value Measurements The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually. The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). Share-Based Compensation The Company records share-based compensation in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718, “Compensation-Share Compensation” (“ASC 718”), guidance to account for its share-based compensation. It defines a fair value-based method of accounting for an employee share option or similar equity instrument. The Company recognizes all forms of share-based payments, including share option grants, warrants and restricted share grants, at their fair value on the grant date, which are based on the estimated number of awards that are ultimately expected to vest. Share-based payments, excluding restricted shares, are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. Grants of share-based payment awards issued to non-employees for services rendered have been recorded at the fair value of the share-based payment, which is the more readily determinable value. F- 10 Warrant Instruments The Company accounts for the Public and Private Warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering and the private placement in accordance with the guidance contained in FASB ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. Accordingly, the Company evaluated and classified the warrant instrument under equity treatment at its assigned value. Class A Shares Subject to Possible Redemption The public shares contain a redemption feature which allows for the redemption of such public shares in connection with the Company’s liquidation, or if there is a shareholder vote or tender offer in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination. In accordance with ASC 480-10-S99, the Company classifies public shares subject to redemption outside of permanent deficit as the redemption provisions are not solely within the control of the Company. The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and will adjust the carrying value of redeemable shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable shares will result in charges against additional paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit. Accordingly, at December 31, 2024, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ deficit section of the Company’s balance sheet. At December 31, 2024, the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption reflected in the balance sheet are reconciled in the following table: Gross proceeds $ 287,500,000 Less: Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants ( 3,421,250 ) Class A ordinary shares issuance costs ( 19,148,011 ) Plus: Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value 29,686,504 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, December 31, 2024 $ 294,617,243 Net Income per Ordinary Share The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” The Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, and the Company’s income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares as of December 31, 2024. Net income per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income by the weighted average shares of ordinary shares outstanding for the respective period. The calculation of diluted net income per ordinary share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering (including exercise of the over-allotment option) and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 17,920,833 Class A ordinary shares because their exercise is contingent upon future events. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. The following tables present a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator used to compute basic and diluted net income per ordinary share for each period presented: For the Period from March 12, 2024 (Inception) Through December 31, 2024 Class A Class B Basic net income per ordinary share Numerator: Allocation of net income, as adjusted $ 3,593,164 $ 1,633,163 Denominator: Basic weighted average ordinary shares outstanding 14,813,559 6,733,051 Basic net income per ordinary share $ 0.24 $ 0.24 F- 11 For the Period from March 12, 2024 (Inception) Through December 31, 2024 Class A Class B Diluted net income per ordinary share Numerator: Allocation of net income, as adjusted $ 3,518,944 $ 1,707,383 Denominator: Diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding 14,813,559 7,187,500 Diluted net income per ordinary share $ 0.24 $ 0.24 Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage limit of $ 250,000 . Any loss incurred or a lack of access to such funds could have a significant adverse impact on the Company’s financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, “Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40)” (“ASU 2020-06”), to simplify certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 as of March 12, 2024 (inception). There was no effect to the Company’s presented financial statements. In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): “Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures”. The amendments in this ASU require disclosures, on an annual and interim basis, of significant segment expenses that are regularly provided to the chief operating officer decision maker (“CODM”), as well as the aggregate amount of other segment items included in the reported measure of segment profit or loss. The ASU requires that a public entity disclose the title and position of the CODM and an explanation of how the CODM uses the reported measure(s) of segment profit or loss in assessing segment performance and deciding how to allocate resources. Public entities will be required to provide all annual disclosures currently required by Topic 280 in interim periods, and entities with a single reportable segment are required to provide all the disclosures required by the amendments in this ASU and existing segment disclosures in Topic 280. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements. NOTE 3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, on August 2, 2024 the Company sold 28,750,000 Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option in the amount of 3,750,000 Units, at a purchase price of $ 10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share (the “public shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant (the “Public Warrants” and, together with the Private Placement Warrants, the “warrants”). Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $ 11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. Each warrant will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination and will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. F- 12 Warrants As of December 31, 2024, there were 22,712,500 warrants outstanding, including 14,375,000 warrants sold as part of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $ 11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed herein. The warrants cannot be exercised until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, and will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary shares underlying such unit. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, the Company has agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of its Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement for the Initial Public Offering or a new registration statement covering the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following the Company’s initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the sixtieth (60 th ) business day after the closing of the initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event the Company does not so elect, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If the holders exercise their Public Warrants on a cashless basis, they would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $ 18.00 The Company may redeem the outstanding warrants: ● in whole and not in part; ● at a price of $ 0.01 per warrant; F- 13 ● upon a minimum of 30 days ’ prior written notice of redemption (the “ 30 -day redemption period”); and ● if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $ 18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 -trading day period commencing at least 150 days after completion of the initial Business Combination and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. Additionally, if the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a share capitalization payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a subdivision of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, subdivision or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share capitalization of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) the quotient of (x) the price per class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering and (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights. NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENT Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters, purchased an aggregate of 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $ 11.50 per share, at a price of $ 1.00 per warrant, or $ 8,337,500 in the aggregate. Of those 8,337,500 Private Placement Warrants, the Sponsor purchased 5,043,750 Private Placement Warrants and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. purchased 3,293,750 Private Placement Warrants. Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $ 11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering except that, so long as they are held by the Sponsor, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants (i) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these Private Placement Warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination, (ii) will be entitled to registration rights and (iii) with respect to Private Placement Warrants held by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and/or its designees, will not be exercisable more than five years from the date of the Initial Public Offering in accordance with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Rule 5110(g)(8). The Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of the initial Business Combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the procedures to consummate the initial Business Combination if the Company determines it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial Business Combination; (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the initial Business Combination or to redeem 100 % of the public shares if the Company has not consummated an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity; (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their founder shares if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any public shares they hold if the Company fails to complete the initial Business Combination within the Completion Window and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account; and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of the initial Business Combination. F- 14 NOTE 5. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Founder Shares On March 15, 2024, the Sponsor made a capital contribution of $ 25,000 , or approximately $ 0.004 per share, to cover certain of the Company’s expenses, for which the Company issued 7,187,500 founders shares to the Sponsor. As the underwriters’ over-allotment was exercised in full as part of the Initial Public Offering, none of the founder shares are subject to forfeiture. The Company’s initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion thereof until the earlier to occur of (i) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination or (ii) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the Company’s initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares (the “Lock-up”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $ 12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, share consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30 -trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination or (2) if the Company consummates a transaction after the initial Business Combination which results in the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the founder shares will be released from the Lock-up. Promissory Note — Related Party The Sponsor had agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $ 300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the Initial Public Offering. The loan was non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on demand. The Company had no borrowings under the promissory note as of December 31, 2024 and the loan is no longer available to be drawn upon. Related Party Loans In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (the “Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Up to $ 1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $ 1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. As of December 31, 2024, no such Working Capital Loans were outstanding. Advance from Related Party M3 Partners has advanced the Company $ 280,545 to be used for expenses related to the Initial Public Offering. Subsequently, M3 Partners advanced an additional $ 98,212 to the Company. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $ 378,757 in advances from related party. NOTE 6. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Registration Rights The holders of the founder shares, Private Placement Warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans have registration rights to require the Company to register a sale of any of the Company’s securities held by them and any other securities of the Company acquired by them prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company registers such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggyback” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. Underwriters’ Agreement The underwriters had a 45 -day option from the date of the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to an additional 3,750,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any. On August 1, 2024, the underwriters elected to fully exercise the over-allotment option to purchase the additional 3,750,000 Units at a price of $ 10.00 per Unit. The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $ 5,000,000 ( 2.0 % of the gross proceeds of the Units offered in the Initial Public Offering, excluding any proceeds from Units sold pursuant to the underwriters’ over-allotment option), which was paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Additionally, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of 4.40 % of the gross proceeds of the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account other than those sold pursuant to the underwriters’ over-allotment option and 6.40 % of the gross proceeds sold pursuant to the underwriters’ over-allotment option, or $ 13,400,000 in the aggregate, payable upon the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. F- 15 Risks and Uncertainties The United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the geopolitical instability resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict. In response to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (“NATO”) deployed additional military forces to eastern Europe, and the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and other countries have announced various sanctions and restrictive actions against Russia, Belarus and related individuals and entities, including the removal of certain financial institutions from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine and to Israel, increasing geopolitical tensions among a number of nations. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel and its neighboring states and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing conflicts are highly unpredictable, they could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions and increased cyberattacks against U.S. companies. Additionally, any resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets. Any of the above-mentioned factors, or any other negative impact on the global economy, capital markets or other geopolitical conditions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict and subsequent sanctions or related actions, could adversely affect the Company’s search for an initial Business Combination and any target business with which the Company may ultimately consummate an initial Business Combination. NOTE 7. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT Preferred Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 1,000,000 preferred shares at par value of $ 0.0001 each. At December 31, 2024, there were no preferred shares issued or outstanding. Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 200,000,000 Class A ordinary shares at par value of $ 0.0001 each. At December 31, 2024, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding, excluding 28,750,000 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue a total of 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares at par value of $ 0.0001 each. As of December 31, 2024, there were 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. The founder shares included an aggregate of up to 937,500 shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised by the underwriters in full. On August 1, 2024, the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option in full as part of the closing of the Initial Public Offering. As such, the 937,500 founder shares were no longer subject to forfeiture. The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares in connection with the consummation of the initial Business Combination or earlier at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, share consolidations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, 20 % of the total number of Class A ordinary shares outstanding after such conversion (after giving effect to any redemptions of Class A ordinary shares by public shareholders), including the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination and any Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis. Holders of record of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. F- 16 NOTE 8. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities: Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. Level 3: Unobservable inputs based on assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2024 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques that the Company utilized to determine such fair value: Quoted Prices in Significant Other Significant Other Active Markets Observable Inputs Unobservable Inputs Description (Level 1) (Level 2) (Level 3) Assets: Investments held in Trust Account - U.S. Treasury Securities $ 294,617,243 $ — $ — The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on August 2, 2024, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value: Level August 2, 2024 Equity: Fair value of Public Warrants for Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption allocation 3 $ 3,421,250 The fair value of Public Warrants was determined using a binomial-lattice model. The Public Warrants have been classified within shareholders’ deficit and will not require remeasurement after issuance. The following table presents the quantitative information regarding market assumptions used in the valuation of the Public Warrants: August 2, 2024 Underlying stock price $ 9.92 Exercise price 11.50 Term (years) 4.70 Risk-free rate 3.61 % Volatility 1.0 % Probability of completion a Business Combination 60.0 % F- 17 NOTE 9. SEGMENT INFORMATION ASC Topic 280, “Segment Reporting,” establishes standards for companies to report in their financial statement information about operating segments, products, services, geographic areas, and major customers. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by the Company’s chief operating decision maker, or group, in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker has been identified as the Chief Executive Officer (“CODM”), who reviews the operating results for the Company as a whole to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing financial performance. Accordingly, management has determined that the Company only has one operating segment. When evaluating the Company’s performance and making key decisions regarding resource allocation the CODM reviews several key metrics, which include the following: For the Period from March 12, 2024 (Inception) Through December 31, 2024 General and administrative costs $ 453,416 Interest earned on investments held in Trust Account $ 5,679,743 The key measures of segment profit or loss reviewed by our CODM are interest earned on investments held in Trust Account and general and administrative costs. The CODM reviews interest earned on investments held in Trust Account to measure and monitor shareholder value and determine the most effective strategy of investment with the Trust Account funds while maintaining compliance with the trust agreement. General and administrative costs are reviewed and monitored by the CODM to manage and forecast cash to ensure enough capital is available to complete a business combination within the business combination period. The CODM also reviews general and administrative costs to manage, maintain and enforce all contractual agreements to ensure costs are aligned with all agreements and budget. The accounting policies used to measure the profit and loss of the segment are the same as those described in the summary of significant accounting policies. NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements. F-18