Apex Treasury Corp 10-K, filed Mar 26, 2026
Apex Treasury Corp (APXT)
About this 10-K
Apex Treasury Corp filed this 10-K on March 26, 2026, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number:
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
| (Address of principal executive offices) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class: | Trading Symbols | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
| Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements.
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
The registrant’s units began trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on October 28, 2025, and the registrant’s Class A Ordinary Shares began separate trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on November 17, 2025. The registrant was
As of March 26, 2026, there were an aggregate of 45,960,000 ordinary shares of the registrant issued and outstanding, consisting of
Documents Incorporated by Reference:
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Form 10-K”) may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this Form 10-K may include, for example, statements about:
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | our ability to complete our initial Business Combination (as defined below); |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| ● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | the adverse impacts that events outside of our control, such as increased geopolitical unrest and increased volatility in the debt and equity markets, may have on our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination; |
| ● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| ● | the use of proceeds not held in the Trust Account (as defined below) or available to us from interest income on the Trust Account balance; |
| ● | the Trust Account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| ● | our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the section of this Form 10-K entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
ii
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section titled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
| ● | We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| ● | Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial Business Combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our Founder Shares (as defined below) will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial Business Combination even though a majority of our Public Shareholders (as defined below) do not support such a combination. |
| ● | Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| ● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial Business Combination, regardless of how our Public Shareholders vote, and we may not need any Public Shares (as defined below) in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination. |
| ● | The ability of our Public Shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential Business Combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a Business Combination with a target. |
| ● | The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares and the amount of deferred underwriting compensation may not allow us to complete the most desirable Business Combination or optimize our capital structure, and may substantially dilute your investment in us. |
| ● | The requirement that we complete our initial Business Combination within the duration of the Completion Window (as defined below) may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential Business Combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial Business Combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
| ● | Our search for an initial Business Combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected by current global geopolitical conditions resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. |
| ● | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor (as defined below), initial shareholders, directors, officers, and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or Public Warrants from Public Shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed Business Combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities. |
| ● | If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial Business Combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
| ● | If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination. |
iii
| ● | Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. |
| ● | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| ● | Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
| ● | The nominal purchase price paid by our Sponsor for the Founder Shares may result in significant dilution to the implied value of your Public Shares upon the consummation of our initial Business Combination, and our Sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial Business Combination, even if the Business Combination causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to materially decline. |
| ● | The value of the Founder Shares following completion of our initial Business Combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share. |
| ● | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of other blank check companies subject to Rule 419 of the Securities Act. |
| ● | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for Business Combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the required time period, our Public Shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on our redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
| ● | If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants (each as defined below) not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the duration of the Completion Window, it could limit the amount of cash available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial Business Combination, and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial Business Combination. |
| ● | Past performance by our management team, our advisors and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company. |
| ● | We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors. |
| ● | We may reincorporate in or transfer by way of continuation to another jurisdiction in connection with our Business Combination, and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders. |
| ● | The Excise Tax (as defined below) could be imposed on redemptions of our ordinary shares if we were to become a “covered corporation” in the future. |
| ● | Due to the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets, attractive targets may become more scarce and there may be more competition for attractive targets or such attractive targets may not be interested in consummating a Business Combination with a SPAC due to a negative public perception of mergers involving SPACs. This could increase the cost of our initial Business Combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial Business Combination. |
| ● | Transactions in connection with or in anticipation of our initial Business Combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result of our Business Combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and/or uncertain. |
iv
Part I
Item 1. Business
References in this Form 10-K to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refer to Apex Treasury Corporation. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors.
Introduction
We are a blank check company incorporated on June 26, 2025 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). We have 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering (“IPO” or “Initial Public Offering”), or until such earlier liquidation date as our board of directors may approve (the “Completion Window”), to complete our initial Business Combination.
We have reviewed, and continue to review, a number of opportunities to enter into a Business Combination, but we are not able to determine at this time whether we will complete a Business Combination with any of the target businesses that we have reviewed or with any other target business. We may pursue an initial Business Combination in any business or industry but we expect to target opportunities and companies that are in the blockchain & digital assets, crypto treasury strategies, AI, B2B software, data services, renewable energy, and build-to-rent real estate assets sectors. We also have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenue to date. Based on our business activities, the Company is a “shell company” as defined under the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), because we have no operations and nominal assets consisting almost entirely of cash.
The registration statements for our IPO became effective pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) on October 27, 2025. On October 29, 2025, we consummated the IPO of 34,470,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares” or “Class A Ordinary Shares”), which included the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 4,470,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $344,700,000. Each Unit consists of one Class A Ordinary Share and one-half of one redeemable warrant of the Company (the “Public Warrants”), with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share at $11.50 per share.
Simultaneously with the closing of our IPO, we consummated the sale of an aggregate of 8,894,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, in a private placement to the Company’s Sponsor, Apex Treasury Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), and Cohen and Company Capital Markets, a division of Cohen & Company Securities, LLC (“Cohen”), the representative of the underwriters of the IPO, generating gross proceeds of $8,894,000. Of those 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants, the Sponsor purchased 5,447,000 Private Placement Warrants and Cohen purchased 3,447,000 Private Placement Warrants.
Prior to the consummation of the IPO, on June 30, 2025, our Sponsor made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain expenses on our behalf in exchange for issuance of 9,583,333 Class B Ordinary Shares (the “Founder Shares”). In July 2025, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to each of our then independent director nominees (for an aggregate of 90,000 Founder Shares), 50,000 Founder Shares to each of our advisors (for an aggregate of 150,000 Founder shares) and 100,000 Founder Shares to our Chief Financial Officer at the same per-share price that our Sponsor purchased such shares, or approximately $0.003 per share. On October 27, 2025, the Company effected a share capitalization of 1,916,667 Founder Shares, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 11,500,000 Founder Shares. On October 28, 2025, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option and forfeited the unexercised balance. As a result of the partial exercise and the forfeiture of the over-allotment option by the underwriters, 10,000 Founder Shares were forfeited by the Sponsor, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 11,490,000 Founder Shares. In March 2026, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to an independent director, resulting in our Sponsor holding 11,120,000 Founder Shares.
1
Following the closing of the IPO, on October 29, 2025, an amount of $344,700,000 ($10.00 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in the Trust Account (the “Trust Account”) and can be held as cash or invested in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. 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 IPO 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 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) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within 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. To mitigate the risk that might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, which risk increases the longer that the Company holds investments in the Trust Account, the Company may, at any time (based on the management team’s ongoing assessment of all factors related to the Company’s potential status under the Investment Company Act), instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in an interest bearing bank demand deposit account at a bank.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial Business Combination using cash held in the Trust Account, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial Business Combination (including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, other securities issuances, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial Business Combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
We may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our Trust Account or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon completion of the Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. There are no prohibitions on our ability to issue securities or incur debt in connection with our initial Business Combination. We are not currently a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities, the incurrence of debt or otherwise.
Business Strategy
With capital markets increasingly poised for innovation, driven by rapid technological advancements and a growing shift toward alternative capital preservation strategies, we see strong momentum and favorable timing to source and execute quality opportunities across the digital assets, crypto treasury strategies, AI, B2B software, data services, renewable energy, and build-to-rent real estate assets industries (our “Target Industries”).
2
Our business strategy focuses on identifying attractive and undervalued opportunities in private and public markets globally. We believe that there are ample opportunities in our Target Industries.
Our management team’s, board of directors’ and advisors’ experience and networks provide us with specific competitive advantages, including:
| ● | Deep M&A and Capital Markets Experience. Our management team possesses extensive experience sourcing and executing capital markets and M&A transactions, with multiple billion-dollar and high-profile deals across tech, energy, and financial sectors. Collectively, the team has been involved in numerous billion dollar deals across capital markets and M&A. Notable ones include CNOOC’s $1.5 billion IPO and Springbig’s $500 million De-SPAC merger with Tuatara Capital Acquisition Corp. |
| ● | Strong Sourcing Networks. We believe that our management team’s networks amongst private companies, investment banks, financial advisors, sponsors and private equity funds will allow us to identify and capitalize on high-potential investment opportunities, including access to maturing private equity fund assets nearing fund-life completion. We believe these networks, relationships and contacts will result in a robust pipeline of target companies and, combined with our ability to execute transactions, will help us to build a sustainable competitive advantage in the market. We further believe that these relationships also provide us with reliable access to capital, which would enable us to execute on our strategic initiatives and opportunities as they arise. |
| ● | Relevant Industry Expertise. Our advisory board provides privileged access to high-quality deal flow in AI, blockchain, and digital assets. This access is further strengthened by our extensive network of private and public international companies and financial sponsors, which we believe gives us a competitive advantage in sourcing deals, securing strategic partnerships, and facilitating seamless transactions. Our management team has built strong relationships with key industry players and brings deep operational and financial expertise across our target industries, enabling us to identify and capitalize on a wide range of high-impact opportunities. |
| ● | Secular Trends. We intend to leverage our management team’s deep industry experience to maximize benefits from major macroeconomic trends such as the positive momentum of cryptocurrency and the reshaping of capital markets with companies increasingly using digital assets, both of which we believe will unlock more acquisition opportunities for us in the near term. |
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
The rules of Nasdaq and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that we complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes paid or payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial Business Combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial Business Combination. In the event that we seek to complete our initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors (or their respective affiliates or related entities), we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or an independent firm that commonly renders valuation opinions for the type of company we are seeking to acquire or from an independent accounting firm, that our initial Business Combination is fair to the Company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context. Additionally, pursuant to Nasdaq rules, our initial Business Combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
3
We anticipate structuring our initial Business Combination so that the post transaction company in which our Public Shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial Business Combination such that the post transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial Business Combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial Business Combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial Business Combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial Business Combination.
If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the 80% of net assets test described above. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses.
Consistent with our business strategy, we will look to identify companies that have compelling growth potential and a combination of the characteristics below. We intend to use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating initial business combination opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet the following criteria:
| ● | Cross Border Opportunities: Foreign assets that can potentially uplift valuation through access to U.S. public equity markets and can capitalize on the different investor and consumer base here. Many global family-owned businesses are strong De-SPAC targets and succession planning would be an important factor in considering those opportunities. |
| ● | Established Businesses: Businesses with a strong track record, entrenched competitive position, and a committed and capable management team. We believe we can help build upon an existing competitive position through the implementation of various initiatives, such as offering access to capital through our strong network of diverse investors. In certain circumstances, we may look to recruit additional members to the existing team. |
| ● | Robust Financials: Businesses with low revenue risk, well capitalized stable operations, visible growth, and strong cash flow generation with opportunity for further improvement, including productivity initiatives. |
These criteria and guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial Business Combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria and guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, guidelines and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial Business Combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria and guidelines in our shareholder communications related to our initial Business Combination, which would be in the form of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the initial Business Combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial Business Combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial Business Combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
4
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers, directors or advisors (or their respective affiliates or related entities). In the event that we seek to complete our Initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated (as defined in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) with our Sponsor, officers, directors or advisors (or their respective affiliates or related entities), we, or a committee of independent directors, will 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.
Members of our management team and our independent directors directly or indirectly own Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial Business Combination. The low price that our Sponsor, executive officers and directors (directly or indirectly) paid for the Founder Shares creates an incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for Public Shareholders. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants may expire worthless, except to the extent they receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account, which could create an incentive for our Sponsor, executive officers and directors to complete a transaction even if we select an acquisition target that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for Public Shareholders. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial Business Combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. 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 to any director or officer on the one hand, and us, on the other. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
In addition, our Sponsor and our officers and directors may sponsor or form other special purpose acquisition companies similar to ours or may pursue other business or investment ventures during the period in which we are seeking an initial Business Combination. As a result, our Sponsor, officers and directors could have conflicts of interest in determining whether to present business combination opportunities to us or to any other special purpose acquisition company with which they may become involved. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial business combination target. However, we do not believe that such duties or obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. Each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem its Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the initial Business Combination, or whether they do not vote or abstain from voting on the initial Business Combination, or whether they were a shareholder on the record date for the shareholder meeting held to approve the initial Business Combination. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our Company and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq’s shareholder approval rules.
5
The requirement that we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares by one of the two methods listed above are contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on Nasdaq. Such provisions may be amended if approved by a special resolution, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company, so long as we offer redemption in connection with such amendment.
If we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in connection with a general meeting, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| ● | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
| ● | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our Public Shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial Business Combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial Business Combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which requires the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company. A quorum for such meeting will be present if the holders of one-third of issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote at the meeting are represented in person or by proxy. Our Sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their Founder Shares and any Public Shares purchased during or after our IPO (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial Business Combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial Business Combination once a quorum is obtained. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their ordinary shares at a general meeting of the Company, we will not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination. However, if our initial Business Combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial Business Combination will require the approval of a special resolution, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the company. Each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they do not vote or abstain from voting on the proposed transaction or whether they were a Public Shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
6
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will:
| ● | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| ● | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial Business Combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on Public Shareholders not tendering more than the number of Public Shares we are permitted to redeem. If Public Shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial Business Combination.
Upon the public announcement of our initial Business Combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our Sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase our Class A Ordinary Shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
We intend to require our Public Shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial Business Combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a Public Shareholder seeking redemption of its Public Shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our Public Shares in connection with our initial Business Combination will indicate whether we are requiring Public Shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming Public Shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial Business Combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by Public Shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
We will provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial Business Combination, all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of our initial Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that any beneficial owner on whose behalf a redemption right is being exercised must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and any Public Shares they may hold in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination or an earlier redemption in connection with the commencement of the consummation of the initial Business Combination if we determine it is desirable to facilitate the completion of the initial Business Combination.
7
Our proposed initial Business Combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Public Shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial Business Combination or redeem any shares, and all Public Shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. We may, however, raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial Business Combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, in order to, among other reasons, satisfy such net tangible assets or minimum cash requirements.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or Public Warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial Business Combination, although they are under no obligation or duty to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights.
In the event that our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from Public Shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial Business Combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of Public Warrants could be to reduce the number of Public Warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial Business Combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A Ordinary Shares or Public Warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our initial shareholders, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A Ordinary Shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial Business Combination. To the extent that our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the Trust Account or vote against our initial Business Combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial Business Combination but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial Business Combination. Our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on a negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws. Our Sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
8
Our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Additionally, in the event our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
| ● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers and their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases; |
| ● | if our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process; |
| ● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our business combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the business combination transaction; |
| ● | our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and |
| ● | we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the Business Combination transaction, the following material items: |
| ● | the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates, along with the purchase price; |
| ● | the purpose of the purchases by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates; |
| ● | the impact, if any, of the purchases by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates on the likelihood that the business combination transaction will be approved; |
| ● | the identities of our security holders who sold to our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors, or their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates; and |
| ● | the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer. |
Please see “Item 1A. Risk Factors - If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or Public Warrants from Public Shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.”
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such Public Shareholder or any other person with whom such Public Shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares without our prior consent (the “Excess Shares”). We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a Public Shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the Public Shares could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our Sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the Public Shares, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial Business Combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial Business Combination.
9
Redemption of Public Shares if No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only the duration of the Completion Window to complete our initial Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, we will as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and subject to the other requirements of applicable law.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and advisors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Founder Shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account. However, if our Sponsor or management team acquire Public Shares in or after our Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares, and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account, if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the allotted Completion Window.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and advisors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, unless we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding Public Shares.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with our liquidation, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,300,000 of proceeds held outside the Trust Account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with our liquidation, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the Trust Account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the Trust Account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the Trust Account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the Trust Account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our Public Shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
10
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our Public Shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the company under the circumstances. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our Initial Public Offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interests to pay liquidation expenses, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our Sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial Business Combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per Public Share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial Business Combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your Public Shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account. Our Sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,000,000 from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our Trust Account could be liable for claims made by creditors.
11
If we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the Trust Account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our Public Shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy/insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance, preference or disposition.” As a result, a liquidator, bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying Public Shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our Public Shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the Trust Account. In the event that we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial Business Combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the Trust Account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial Business Combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other special purpose acquisition companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting Business Combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess similar or greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our Public Shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial Business Combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial Business Combination.
Employees
We currently have four officers: Ajmal Rahman, Hugh Cochrane, James McNaught-Davis and Paul Sykes. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial Business Combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial Business Combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination.
12
Available Information
We are required to file Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q with the SEC on a regular basis, and are required to disclose certain material events (e.g., changes in corporate control, acquisitions or dispositions of a significant amount of assets other than in the ordinary course of business and bankruptcy) in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The SEC maintains an Internet website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The SEC’s Internet website is located at http://www.sec.gov. In addition, we will provide copies of these documents without charge upon request from us in writing at 2035 Regatta Drive Vero Beach, Florida 32963 or by telephone at (772) 588-4799.
Emerging Growth Company, Smaller Reporting Company and Controlled Company
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes- Oxley Act reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.235 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A Ordinary Shares that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” will have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.
In addition, prior to the consummation of a Business Combination, only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares will have the right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors. As a result, Nasdaq will consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the appointment of directors is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements. We currently do not intend to rely on the “controlled company” exemption, but may do so in the future. Accordingly, if we choose to do so, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
13
Item 1A. Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Form 10-K. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial Business Combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our Founder Shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial Business Combination even though a majority of our Public Shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial Business Combination if the Business Combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed Business Combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our Founder Shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial Business Combination even if a majority of our Public Shareholders do not approve of the Business Combination we complete. Please see the risk factor entitled “ — Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial Business Combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our Founder Shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial Business Combination even though a majority of our Public Shareholders do not support such a combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our initial shareholders and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial Business Combination, regardless of how our Public Shareholders vote, and we may not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination.
Our initial shareholders own 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders and management team also may from time-to-time purchase Class A Ordinary Shares prior to our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval of an initial Business Combination, such initial Business Combination will be approved if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law and our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which requires the affirmative vote of at least a simple majority of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, voting together as a single class, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ Founder Shares, we would need 11,478,510 or 33.3%, of the 34,470,000 Public Shares sold in our IPO to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to have our initial Business Combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted). Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their ordinary shares at a general meeting of the Company, we will not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination. However, if our initial Business Combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial Business Combination will require the approval of a special resolution, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company, or by a unanimous written resolution passed in accordance with the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, as amended from time to time (the “Companies Act”). Assuming all outstanding shares are voted at an extraordinary general meeting of the Company, we will need 19,151,532, or 55.56%, of the 34,470,000 Public Shares sold in our IPO, in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination. Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their ordinary shares at an extraordinary general meeting of the Company, we will not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders and management team to vote in favor of our initial Business Combination will increase the likelihood that an ordinary resolution will be passed, being the requisite shareholder approval for such initial Business Combination.
14
Your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding a potential Business Combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial Business Combination. Since our board of directors may complete a Business Combination without seeking shareholder approval, Public Shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the Business Combination, unless we seek such shareholder vote. Accordingly, your only opportunity to effect your investment decision regarding our initial Business Combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our Public Shareholders in which we describe our initial Business Combination. The per share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our Public Shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential Business Combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a Business Combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a Business Combination transaction agreement with a minimum cash requirement for (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. If too many Public Shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the Business Combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would not allow us to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related Business Combination and may instead search for an alternate Business Combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a Business Combination transaction with us.
The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares and the amount of deferred underwriting compensation may not allow us to complete the most desirable Business Combination or optimize our capital structure, and may substantially dilute your investment in us.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial Business Combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B Ordinary Shares results in the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares at the time of our initial Business Combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable Business Combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. As a result, our obligations to redeem Public Shares for which redemption is requested and to pay the deferred underwriting commissions may not allow us to complete the most desirable Business Combination or optimize our capital structure.
In addition, raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B Ordinary Shares result in the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares at the time of our Business Combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable Business Combination available to us or optimize our capital structure and may result in substantial dilution from your purchase of our Class A Ordinary Shares. The effect of this dilution will be greater for shareholders who do not redeem. We may not be able to generate sufficient value from the completion of our initial Business Combination in order to overcome the dilutive impact of these and other factors, and, accordingly, you may incur a net loss on your investment. Please see “- Risks Relating to Our Securities - The nominal purchase price paid by our Sponsor for the Founder Shares may result in significant dilution to the implied value of your Public Shares upon the consummation of our initial Business Combination, and our Sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial Business Combination, even if the Business Combination causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to materially decline.”
15
The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial Business Combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial Business Combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial Business Combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial Business Combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential Business Combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial Business Combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a Business Combination will be aware that we must complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a Business Combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial Business Combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial Business Combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation. The length of time it may take us to complete our diligence and negotiate a Business Combination may reduce the amount of time available for us to ultimately complete an initial Business Combination should such diligence or negotiations not lead to a consummated initial Business Combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our IPO, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with an initial Business Combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the Trust Account only upon a completion of an initial Business Combination. These financial incentives may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such additional services to us after our IPO, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial Business Combination.
We may engage one or more of our underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our IPO, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing M&A advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that are conditioned on the completion of an initial Business Combination. The underwriters’ or their respective affiliates’ financial interests tied to the consummation of a Business Combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial Business Combination.
16
We may not be able to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our Public Shares.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window. In recent years, a number of SPACs have liquidated due to an inability to complete an initial Business Combination within their allotted time periods. Furthermore, our ability to complete our initial Business Combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein, including the impact of events such as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within such time period, we will: as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our Public Shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or possibly less, and our warrants will expire without value to the holder. In certain circumstances, our Public Shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” for more information.
We may decide not to extend the term we have to consummate our initial Business Combination, in which case we would redeem our Public Shares, and the warrants may be worthless.
We have until the end of the Completion Window to consummate our initial Business Combination. If we anticipate that we may be unable to consummate our initial Business Combination within such period, we may seek shareholder approval to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial Business Combination. However, we may decide not to seek to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial Business Combination. If we do not seek to extend the date by which we must consummate our initial Business Combination, and we are unable to consummate our initial Business Combination within the applicable time period, we will as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 for dissolution expenses), divided by the number of issued and outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such event, the warrants may be worthless.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination, our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or Public Warrants from Public Shareholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed Business Combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial Business Combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgment that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from Public Shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. It is intended that, if Rule 10b-18 would apply to purchases by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates, then such purchases will comply with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, to the extent it applies, which provides a safe harbor for purchases made under certain conditions, including with respect to timing, pricing and volume of purchases.
17
Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial Business Combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire Public Shares, vote their Public Shares in favor of our initial Business Combination or not redeem their Public Shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the Trust Account will be used to purchase Public Shares, rights or warrants in such transactions.
The purpose of any such transactions could be to (i) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the Business Combination, (ii) reduce the number of Public Warrants outstanding and/or increase the likelihood of approval on any matters submitted to the Public Warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial Business Combination or (iii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial Business Combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial Business Combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our securities may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Additionally, in the event our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders after the announcement of our initial Business Combination, such purchases would be structured in compliance with the requirements of Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act including, in pertinent part, through adherence to the following:
| ● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our Business Combination transaction would disclose the possibility that our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders outside the redemption process, along with the purpose of such purchases; |
| ● | if our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates were to purchase Public Shares or warrants from Public Shareholders, they would do so at a price no higher than the price offered through our redemption process; |
| ● | our registration statement/proxy statement filed for our Business Combination transaction would include a representation that any of our securities purchased by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates would not be voted in favor of approving the Business Combination transaction; |
| ● | our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates would not possess any redemption rights with respect to our securities or, if they do acquire and possess redemption rights, they would waive such rights; and |
| ● | we would disclose in a Form 8-K, before our security holder meeting to approve the Business Combination transaction, the following material items: |
| ● | the amount of our securities purchased outside of the redemption offer by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates, along with the purchase price; |
| ● | the purpose of the purchases by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates; |
| ● | the impact, if any, of the purchases by our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates on the likelihood that the Business Combination transaction will be approved; |
| ● | the identities of our security holders who sold to our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates (if not purchased on the open market) or the nature of our security holders (e.g., 5% security holders) who sold to our Sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates; and |
| ● | the number of our securities for which we have received redemption requests pursuant to our redemption offer. |
18
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our Public Shares in connection with our initial Business Combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our Public Shares in connection with our initial Business Combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit Public Shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our Public Shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the initial Business Combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a Public Shareholder seeking redemption of its Public Shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the scheduled vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of other blank check companies subject to Rule 419 of the Securities Act.
Since the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants are intended to be used to complete one or more initial Business Combinations with a target business or businesses that have not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our respective initial Business Combinations than do companies subject to Rule 419.
Moreover, if the IPO had been subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the Trust Account to us unless and until the funds in the Trust Account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial Business Combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A Ordinary Shares, you may lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A Ordinary Shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the then outstanding Excess Shares without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial Business Combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial Business Combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial Business Combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
19
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for Business Combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources are relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our Public Shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial Business Combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial Business Combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a Business Combination. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Shareholders may receive only their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants not being held in the Trust Account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the duration of the Completion Window, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial Business Combination, and we will depend on loans from our Sponsor or management team to fund our search and to complete our initial Business Combination.
As of December 31, 2025, $991,532 was available to us outside the Trust Account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the Trust Account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the duration of the Completion Window; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed Business Combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our Sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate.
Neither our Sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the Trust Account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial Business Combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such 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, including as to exercisability and exercise price. Prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to liquidate the Trust Account. Consequently, our Public Shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our Public Shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
20
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the Trust Account may not protect those funds from third party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of our Public Shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the Trust Account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the Trust Account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the Company under the circumstances. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the IPO will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason. Upon redemption of our Public Shares, if we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial Business Combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by Public Shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per Public Share initially held in the Trust Account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, our Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or other similar agreement or Business Combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our Sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our Sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our Sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our Sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the Trust Account, the funds available for our initial Business Combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per Public Share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial Business Combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your Public Shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our Sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the Trust Account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the Trust Account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account if less than $10.00 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case less taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses, and our Sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our Sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the Trust Account available for distribution to our Public Shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per Public Share.
21
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account and to not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the Trust Account due to their ownership of Public Shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial Business Combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a liquidator or a bankruptcy, insolvency or other court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy/insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance, preference or disposition.” As a result, a liquidator or a bankruptcy, insolvency or other court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to us or our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, by paying Public Shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or winding-up petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or winding-up petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the Trust Account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the Trust Account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our dissolution may be reduced.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial Business Combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements and numerous complex tax laws. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial Business Combination, and results of operations.
22
On January 24, 2024, the SEC adopted a series of new rules relating to SPACs (the “SPAC Rules”) requiring, among other items, (i) additional disclosures relating to SPAC Business Combination transactions; (ii) additional disclosures relating to dilution and to conflicts of interest involving sponsors and their affiliates in both SPAC initial public offerings and de-SPAC transactions; (iii) the use of projections by SPACs in SEC filings in connection with proposed Business Combination transactions; and (iv) both the SPAC and the target company’s status as co-registrants on de-SPAC registration statements.
In addition, the SEC’s adopting release provided guidance describing circumstances in which a SPAC could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, including its duration, asset composition, business purpose, and the activities of the SPAC and its management team in furtherance of such goals.
Compliance with the SPAC Rules and related guidance may increase the costs of and the time needed to negotiate and complete an initial Business Combination and may constrain the circumstances under which we could complete an initial Business Combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
As described in the risk factor above entitled “Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial Business Combination, and results of operations,” the SEC’s adopting release with respect to the SPAC Rules provided guidance describing the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act and the regulations thereunder. Whether a SPAC is an investment company will be a question of facts and circumstances. If our facts and circumstances change over time, we will update our disclosure to reflect how those changes impact the risk that we may be considered to be operating as an unregistered investment company. We can give no assurance that a claim will not be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may have to change our operations, wind down our operations, or register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Our activities may be restricted, including:
| ● | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| ● | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination. |
| ● | In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including: |
| ● | registration as an investment company; |
| ● | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ● | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a Business Combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not intend to spend a considerable amount of time actively managing the assets in the Trust Account for the primary purpose of achieving investment returns. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
23
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the Trust Account may only be held as cash, including in demand deposit accounts at a bank, or invested in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations; the holding of these assets in this form is intended to be temporary and for the sole purpose of facilitating the intended Business Combination and may at any time be held as cash or cash items, including in demand deposit accounts at a bank. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Investing in our securities is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The Trust Account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial Business Combination; (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with an amendment of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our Public Shares in connection with an initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we have not consummated our 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; or (iii) absent an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, our return of the funds held in the Trust Account to our Public Shareholders as part of our redemption of the Public Shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act.
Further, under the subjective test of a “investment company” pursuant to Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act, even if the funds deposited in the Trust Account were invested in the assets discussed above (U.S. government securities or money market funds registered under the Investment Company Act), such assets, other than cash, are “securities” for purposes of the Investment Company Act and, therefore, nevertheless, there is a risk that we could be deemed an unregistered investment company and subject to the Investment Company Act at any time.
In the adopting release for the SPAC Rules, the SEC provided guidance that a SPAC’s potential status as an “investment company” depends on a variety of factors, such as a SPAC’s duration, asset composition, business purpose and activities and “is a question of facts and circumstances” requiring individualized analysis. If we were deemed to be an unregistered investment company and subject to compliance with and regulation under the Investment Company Act, we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and expenses for which we have not allotted funds. Unless we are able to modify our activities so that we would not be deemed an investment company, we would either register as an investment company or wind-down and abandon our efforts to complete a Business Combination and instead liquidate the Trust Account. As a result, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders and would be unable to realize the potential benefits of an initial Business Combination, including the possible appreciation of the combined company’s securities.
To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we may, at any time, instruct the trustee to liquidate the securities held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash until the earlier of the consummation of our initial Business Combination or our dissolution. As a result, following the liquidation of securities in the Trust Account, the interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account may be materially reduced, which would reduce the dollar amount our Public Shareholders would receive upon any redemption or dissolution of the Company.
We hold the funds in the Trust Account as cash, including in demand deposit accounts at a bank, or in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in U.S. government treasury obligations and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. U.S. government treasury obligations are considered “securities” for purposes of the Investment Company Act, while cash is not. As noted above, one of the factors the SEC identified as relevant to the determination of whether a SPAC which holds securities could potentially be deemed an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act is the SPAC’s duration. To mitigate the risk of us being deemed to be an unregistered investment company (including under the subjective test of Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act) and thus subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act, we may, at any time, instruct Efficiency, the trustee with respect to the Trust Account, to liquidate the U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash until the earlier of consummation of our initial Business Combination or dissolution of the Company. Following such dissolution, the rate of interest we receive on the funds held in the Trust Account may be materially decreased. However, interest previously earned on the funds held in the Trust Account still may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any (excluding any Excise Tax, or similar tax, imposed on us). As a result, any decision to liquidate the securities held in the Trust Account and thereafter to hold all funds in the Trust Account in cash would reduce the dollar amount our Public Shareholders would receive upon any redemption or dissolution of the Company.
24
Our search for an initial Business Combination, and any target business with which we may ultimately consummate an initial Business Combination, may be materially adversely affected by current global geopolitical conditions resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia.
United States and global markets are experiencing volatility and disruption following the geopolitical instability resulting from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. 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 (SWIFT) payment system. Certain countries, including the United States, have also provided and may continue to provide military aid or other assistance to Ukraine and to Israel, or have undertaken or will undertake military strikes in Southwest Asia, increasing geopolitical tensions among a number of nations. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and the resulting measures that have been taken, and could be taken in the future, by NATO, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Israel and its neighboring states and other countries have created global security concerns that could have a lasting impact on regional and global economies. Although the length and impact of the ongoing conflicts are highly unpredictable, they could lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in commodity prices, credit and capital markets, as well as supply chain interruptions and increased cyber-attacks against U.S. companies. Additionally, any resulting sanctions could adversely affect the global economy and financial markets and lead to instability and lack of liquidity in capital markets.
Any of the 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 conflict in the Middle East and Southwest Asia and subsequent sanctions or related actions, may lead to increased volume and price volatility for publicly traded securities or could adversely affect our search for an initial Business Combination by adversely affecting the operations or financial condition of potential target companies, any of which could make it more difficult for us to identify a Business Combination target and consummate an initial Business Combination on acceptable commercial terms, or at all.
The extent and duration of the ongoing conflicts, resulting sanctions and any related market disruptions are impossible to predict, but could be substantial, particularly if current or new sanctions continue for an extended period of time or if geopolitical tensions result in expanded military operations on a global scale. Any such disruptions may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this section. If these disruptions or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination may be materially adversely affected.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying Public Shareholders from the Trust Account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable to a fine of approximately $18,293 and to imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
25
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial Business Combination, which could delay the opportunity for our Public Shareholders to discuss company affairs with management, and the holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares will not have the right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors or continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands until after the consummation of our initial Business Combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, Public Shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, as holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares, our Public Shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors or continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands until after the consummation of our initial Business Combination.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial Business Combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
Our efforts to identify a prospective initial Business Combination target will not be limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic region. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prohibit us from effectuating a Business Combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations.
Because we have not yet selected any specific target business with respect to a Business Combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial Business Combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. In recent years, a number of target businesses have underperformed financially post-Business Combination. There are no assurances that the target business with which we consummate our initial Business Combination will perform as anticipated. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our Units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a Business Combination target.
Accordingly, any shareholders or warrant holders who choose to remain shareholders or warrant holders following the Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders or warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the Business Combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may seek Business Combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a Business Combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a Business Combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive Business Combination opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular Business Combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a Business Combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a Business Combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this Form 10-K regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
26
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial Business Combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial Business Combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial Business Combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial Business Combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective Business Combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm or from an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial Business Combination with a company that is affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors (or their respective affiliates or related entities), we are not required to 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. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial Business Combination; provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one-for-one basis.
We may issue additional Class A Ordinary Shares or preference shares to complete our initial Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial Business Combination. We may also issue Class A Ordinary Shares upon the conversion of the Founder Shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained therein. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. As of the date of this Form 10-K, there are 34,470,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, 11,490,000 Class B Ordinary Shares, and 26,129,000 warrants outstanding.
The Class B Ordinary Shares are automatically convertible into Class A Ordinary Shares (which such Class A Ordinary Shares issued upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account if we fail to consummate an initial Business Combination) immediately prior to, concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial Business Combination or at any time prior thereto at the option of the holder, initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A Ordinary Shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial Business Combination.
27
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A Ordinary Shares or preference shares to complete our initial Business Combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial Business Combination. We may also issue Class A Ordinary Shares upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial Business Combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth therein. Such issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares could involve costs to us and our shareholders that would not otherwise be incurred in a traditional initial public offering, including but not limited to:
| ● | significant dilution of the equity interest of investors in our IPO, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B Ordinary Shares resulted in the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B Ordinary Shares ; |
| ● | subordination of the rights of holders of Class A Ordinary Shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A Ordinary Shares; |
| ● | additional costs involved in registering the resale of the securities being sold in any PIPE transactions and potential additional downward pressure on our share price due to the ability of investors in such PIPE transactions being able to sell their securities after registration; |
| ● | potential change in control if a substantial number of Class A Ordinary Shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| ● | potential delaying or preventing of a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and |
| ● | adverse impact on prevailing market prices for our Units, Class A Ordinary Shares and/or warrants. |
In addition, issuances of additional ordinary or preference shares may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. Such issuances may be structured in a way intended to provide a return on investment to the investors in return for funds facilitating the completion of the Business Combination or providing additional liquidity to the post-Business Combination entity.
We may issue our shares to investors in connection with our initial Business Combination at a price which is less than the prevailing market price of our shares at that time.
In connection with our initial Business Combination, we may issue shares to investors in private placement transactions (so-called PIPE transactions) at a price of $10.00 per share or lower, at a price that approximates the per-share amounts in our Trust Account at such time. The purpose of such issuances will be to enable us to provide sufficient liquidity and capital to the post-Business Combination entity. The price of the shares we issue may therefore be less, and potentially significantly less, than the market price for our shares at such time. Any such issuances of equity securities could dilute the interests of our existing shareholders.
Since only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, Nasdaq considers us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, Nasdaq considers us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power for the appointment of directors is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| ● | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq; and |
| ● | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We currently do not rely on the “controlled company” exemption, but may do so in the future. Accordingly, if we choose to do so, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
28
Resources could be wasted in researching Business Combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial Business Combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial Business Combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may engage in a Business Combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our Sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our Sponsor, its managing members, and our officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with or competitive with our Sponsor, officers, directors and their respective affiliates or existing holders. Our directors also serve as officers and/or board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described in the registration statement for our IPO under “Management - Conflicts of Interest.” Our Sponsor, officers and directors may Sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial Business Combination. Such entities may compete with us for Business Combination opportunities. Our Sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial Business Combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a Business Combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a Business Combination as set forth in “Business - Effecting our Initial Business Combination - Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination” elsewhere in this Form 10-K and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our obligation to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions for the type of company we are seeking to acquire or from an independent accounting firm regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a Business Combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our Sponsor, officers or directors (or their respective affiliates or related entities), potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the Business Combination may not be as advantageous to our Public Shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
29
Since our Sponsor, officers, directors, advisors, any other holder of our Founder Shares, and the underwriters may lose their entire investment in us if our initial Business Combination is not completed (other than with respect to Public Shares they have acquired, or may in the future acquire, if any), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular Business Combination target is appropriate for our initial Business Combination.
On June 30, 2025, our Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 9,583,333 Founder Shares. In July 2025, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to each of our then independent director nominees (for an aggregate of 90,000 Founder Shares), 50,000 Founder Shares to each of our advisors (for an aggregate of 150,000 Founder Shares) and 100,000 Founder Shares to our Chief Financial Officer at the same per-share price that our Sponsor purchased such shares, or approximately $0.003 per share, resulting in our Sponsor holding 9,243,333 Founder Shares. On October 27, 2025, the Company effected a share capitalization of 1,916,667 Founder Shares, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 11,500,000 Founder Shares. On October 28, 2025, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option and forfeited the unexercised balance. As a result of the partial exercise and the forfeiture of the over-allotment option by the underwriters, 10,000 Founder Shares were forfeited by the Sponsor, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 11,490,000 Founder Shares. In March 2026, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to an independent director, resulting in our Sponsor holding 11,120,000 Founder Shares.
In addition, our Sponsor and Cohen purchased an aggregate of 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $8,894,000, or $1.00 per warrant. Of those 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants, our Sponsor purchased 5,447,000 Private Placement Warrants and Cohen purchased 3,447,000 Private Placement Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants will be worthless if we do not complete our initial Business Combination.
The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target Business Combination, completing an initial Business Combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial Business Combination. This risk may become more acute as the end of the Completion Window nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial Business Combination.
The non-managing Sponsor investors are not required to (i) hold any Units, Class A Ordinary Shares or Public Warrants they 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 purchase in the initial offering as the rights afforded to our other Public Shareholders.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a Business Combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Form 10-K to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial Business Combination. The incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ● | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial Business Combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ● | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ● | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| ● | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
30
We may only be able to complete one Business Combination with the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
We may effectuate our initial Business Combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial Business Combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial Business Combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several Business Combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| ● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
| ● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial Business Combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete Business Combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial Business Combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other Business Combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial Business Combination. With multiple Business Combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial Business Combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our Business Combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial Business Combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial Business Combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a Business Combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
31
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial Business Combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold. Our proposed initial Business Combination may impose a minimum cash requirement for: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial Business Combination even though a substantial majority of our Public Shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Public Shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed Business Combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the Business Combination or redeem any shares, all Public Shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate Business Combination.
In order to effectuate an initial Business Combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial Business Combination that our shareholders or warrant holders, as applicable, may not support.
In order to effectuate a Business Combination, special purpose acquisition companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, special purpose acquisition companies have extended the time to consummate an initial Business Combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires the approval of a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (or, with respect to the appointment or removal of directors or continuing the Company outside of the Cayman Islands, 90%) of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company, and amending our warrant agreement requires a vote of holders of at least 50% of the Public Warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the Private Placement Warrants (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the forfeiture or cancellation of any Private Placement Warrants or working capital warrants), 50% of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants (including, the vote or written consent of Cohen). In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires us to provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or vote against, our initial Business Combination, for cash if we propose 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 do not complete 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. Many SPACs have faced delisting of their securities following redemptions of shares by public shareholders in connection with proposed amendments to their corporate charters since, after redeeming a large number of publicly held shares, they no longer meet the continued listing requirements of the stock exchange. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of the securities offered through the registration statement filed in connection with our IPO, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial Business Combination in order to effectuate our initial Business Combination.
32
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-Business Combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account) may be amended with the approval of holders of not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other special purpose acquisition companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial Business Combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to pre-Business Combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the IPO and the Private Placement Warrants into the Trust Account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to Public Shareholders as described herein, and other than amendments relating to the provisions regulating the appointment and removal of directors and continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, which require the approval of a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least 90% (or, where such amendment is proposed in respect of the consummation of our initial Business Combination, two-thirds) of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company) may be amended if approved by special resolution under Cayman Islands law. Except as specified above with respect to matters requiring a 90% majority, a special resolution requires the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company or by a unanimous written resolution passed in accordance with the Companies Act. Corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our Trust Account may be amended if approved by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company. Our initial shareholders, who beneficially own 25% of our ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-Business Combination behavior more easily than some other special purpose acquisition companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a Business Combination with which you do not agree.
Our Sponsor, officers, directors and advisors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, in each case unless we provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (net of taxes paid or payable), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our Sponsor, officers, directors or advisors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular Business Combination.
We have not selected any specific Business Combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the Trust Account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by Public Shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial Business Combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial Business Combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular Business Combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial Business Combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial Business Combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination, our Public Shareholders may only receive their pro rata portion of the funds in the Trust Account that are available for distribution to Public Shareholders, and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial Business Combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial Business Combination.
33
Our initial shareholders will control the appointment of our board of directors until consummation of our initial Business Combination and will hold a substantial interest in us. As a result, it will appoint all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination and may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial shareholders own 25% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. This potential concentration of influence could be disadvantageous to other shareholders with interests different from those of our initial shareholders. In addition, the Founder Shares, all of which are held by our initial shareholders, will entitle the holders to appoint all of our directors prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Holders of our Public Shares will have no right to vote on the appointment or removal of directors during such time. Further, prior to the closing of our initial Business Combination, only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to vote on continuing our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend our constitutional documents or to adopt new constitutional documents, in each case, as a result of our approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). In addition, our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which generally serves for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended if approved by a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least 90% (or, where such amendment is proposed in respect of the consummation of our initial Business Combination, two-thirds) of the votes cast by such shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at the applicable general meeting of the Company. As a result, you will not have any influence over the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial Business Combination or any influence over our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial Business Combination. If our initial shareholders purchase any additional Class A Ordinary Shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Neither our initial shareholders nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this Form 10-K. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. We may not hold an annual or extraordinary general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial Business Combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the Business Combination. In addition, since only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares will have the right to vote on directors prior to our initial Business Combination, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial Business Combination.
We may not be able to complete an initial Business Combination because such initial Business Combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements, including foreign investment regulations and review by government entities such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), or may be ultimately prohibited.
Our initial Business Combination may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements by governmental entities, or ultimately prohibited. For example, CFIUS has authority to review direct or indirect foreign investments in U.S. companies. Among other things, CFIUS is empowered to require certain foreign investors to make mandatory filings, to charge filing fees related to such filings, and to self-initiate national security reviews of foreign direct and indirect investments in U.S. companies if the parties to that investment choose not to file voluntarily. In the case that CFIUS determines an investment to be a threat to national security, CFIUS has the power to unwind or place restrictions on the investment. Whether CFIUS has jurisdiction to review an acquisition or investment transaction depends on - among other factors - the nature and structure of the transaction, including the level of beneficial ownership interest and the nature of any information or governance rights involved. For example, investments that result in “control” of a U.S. business by a foreign person always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. CFIUS’s expanded jurisdiction under the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 and implementing regulations that became effective on February 13, 2020 further includes investments that do not result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person but afford certain foreign investors certain information or governance rights in a U.S. business that has a nexus to “critical technologies,” “critical infrastructure” and/or “sensitive personal data.”
34
If a particular proposed initial Business Combination with a U.S. business falls within CFIUS’s jurisdiction, we may determine that we are required to make a mandatory filing or that we will submit to CFIUS review on a voluntary basis, or to proceed with the transaction without submitting to CFIUS and risk CFIUS intervention, before or after closing the transaction. CFIUS may decide to block or delay our proposed initial Business Combination, impose conditions with respect to such initial Business Combination or request the President of the United States to order us to divest all or a portion of the U.S. target business of our initial Business Combination that we acquired without first obtaining CFIUS approval, which may limit the attractiveness of, delay or prevent us from pursuing certain target companies that we believe would otherwise be beneficial to us and our shareholders. As a result, the pool of potential targets with which we could complete an initial Business Combination may be limited and we may be adversely affected in terms of competing with other special purpose acquisition companies which do not have any foreign ownership issues. In addition, certain federally licensed businesses may be subject to rules or regulations that limit foreign ownership.
The process of government review, whether by CFIUS or otherwise, could be lengthy. Because we have only a limited time to complete our initial Business Combination, our failure to obtain any required approvals within the requisite time period may require us to liquidate. If we are unable to consummate our initial Business Combination within the applicable time period required under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, including as a result of extended regulatory review of a potential initial Business Combination, we will as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of then issued outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such event, our shareholders will miss the opportunity to benefit from an investment in a target company and the appreciation in value of such investment. Additionally, our warrants may be worthless.
Due to the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets, attractive targets may become more scarce and there may be more competition for attractive targets or such attractive targets may not be interested in consummating a Business Combination with a SPAC due to a negative public perception of mergers involving SPACs. This could increase the cost of our initial Business Combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial Business Combination.
During 2021 and 2022, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial Business Combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies preparing for an initial public offering, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available to consummate an initial Business Combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial Business Combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become more scarce for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns (including a negative public perception of mergers involving SPACs), geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close Business Combinations or operate targets post-Business Combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial Business Combination and may result in our inability to consummate an initial Business Combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether.
35
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, including events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations, or our prospects.
The funds in our operating account and our Trust Account can be held in banks or other financial institutions and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations; the holding of these assets in this form is intended to be temporary and for the sole purpose of facilitating the intended Business Combination. To mitigate the risk that we might be deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, which risk increases the longer that we hold investments in the Trust Account, we may, at any time (based on our management team’s ongoing assessment of all factors related to our potential status under the Investment Company Act), instruct the trustee to liquidate the investments held in the Trust Account and instead to hold the funds in the Trust Account in cash or in an interest-bearing demand deposit account at a bank. Our cash held in these accounts may exceed any applicable Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. Should events, including limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments occur with respect to the banks or other financial institutions that hold our funds, or that affect financial institutions or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, the value of the assets in our Trust Account could be impaired, which could have a material impact on our operating results, liquidity, financial condition and prospects. For example, on March 10, 2023, the FDIC announced that Silicon Valley Bank had been closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. We cannot guarantee that the banks or other financial institutions that will hold our funds will not experience similar issues.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial Business Combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial Business Combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial Business Combination within the prescribed time frame.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial Business Combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial Business Combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2026. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial Business Combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such Business Combination.
36
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to our completion of our initial Business Combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues that may be present within a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial Business Combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any securityholders who choose to remain securityholders following the Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such securityholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the Business Combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial Business Combination. The loss of a Business Combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial Business Combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial Business Combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The departure of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial Business Combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial Business Combination so that the post-transaction company in which our Public Shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or is otherwise not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial Business Combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post Business Combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the Business Combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A Ordinary Shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A Ordinary Shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the Company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
37
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial Business Combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial Business Combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any securityholders who choose to remain securityholders following the Business Combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such securityholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, relating to the Business Combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
We may seek Business Combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek Business Combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the Business Combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial Business Combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our Business Combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
Transactions in connection with or in anticipation of our initial Business Combination and our structure thereafter may not be tax-efficient to our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result of our Business Combination, our tax obligations may be more complex, burdensome and/or uncertain.
Although we will attempt to structure the transactions in connection with our initial Business Combination in a tax-efficient manner, tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law are uncertain and may change, and we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations. For example, in anticipation of or in connection with our initial Business Combination and subject to any requisite shareholder approval, we may: enter into one or more transactions that require or structure our Business Combination in a manner that requires shareholders and/or warrant holders to recognize gain or income for tax purposes or otherwise increase their tax burden; effect a Business Combination with a target company in another jurisdiction; or reincorporate in a different jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay taxes in connection with our Business Combination or thereafter. Accordingly, a shareholder or a warrant holder may need to satisfy any liability resulting from our initial Business Combination with cash from its own funds or by selling all or a portion of the shares or warrants received.
In addition, we may effect a Business Combination with a target company that has business operations outside of the United States, and possibly, business operations in multiple jurisdictions. If we effect such a Business Combination, we could be subject to significant income, withholding and other tax obligations in a number of jurisdictions with respect to income, operations and subsidiaries related to those jurisdictions. Due to the complexity of tax obligations and filings in other jurisdictions, we may have a heightened risk related to audits or examinations by U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. taxing authorities. This additional complexity and risk could have an adverse effect on our after-tax profitability and financial condition. In addition, shareholders and warrant holders may be subject to additional income, withholding or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after any such transaction.
38
Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we effect our initial Business Combination with a company located outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may adversely affect us.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial Business Combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial Business Combination, and if we effect such initial Business Combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial Business Combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border Business Combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial Business Combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial Business Combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ● | costs and difficulties inherent in executing cross-border transactions, managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas market; |
| ● | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ● | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ● | laws governing the manner in which future Business Combinations may be effected; |
| ● | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| ● | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ● | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ● | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| ● | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ● | challenges in managing and staffing international operations; |
| ● | longer payment cycles; |
| ● | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ● | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ● | rates of inflation; |
| ● | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ● | cultural and language differences; |
| ● | employment regulations; |
39
| ● | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| ● | corruption; |
| ● | protection of intellectual property; |
| ● | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| ● | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| ● | terrorist attacks, natural disasters, widespread health emergencies and wars; and |
| ● | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial Business Combination, or, if we complete such initial Business Combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may reincorporate in or transfer by way of continuation to another jurisdiction in connection with our Business Combination, and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial Business Combination or otherwise and, to the extent applicable, subject to requisite shareholder approval by special resolution under the Companies Act (with respect to which only holders of Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to vote prior to our initial Business Combination), reincorporate in or transfer by way of continuation to the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity (or may otherwise result in adverse tax consequences). We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes. Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of our Class A Ordinary Shares or warrants after the reincorporation.
In particular, although we may attempt to structure any change in our jurisdiction of incorporation (if any) in a tax-efficient manner (including, if possible, in a manner that is tax-deferred for U.S. federal income tax purposes), tax structuring considerations are complex, the relevant facts and law may be uncertain and may change, we may prioritize commercial and other considerations over tax considerations, and we may prioritize company-level tax considerations over the tax considerations of our shareholders and warrant holders. As a result, the change in our jurisdiction of incorporation may have adverse tax consequences to us or to our shareholders and warrant holders, including the recognition of substantial gain for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and because you may not have prior notice of our change in jurisdiction, you may not be able to avoid such consequences. For example, under certain circumstances, including if we are treated as a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on gain or a deemed dividend upon the exchange of our ordinary shares or warrants for our successor’s shares or warrants, and such taxes may be substantial. For a more detailed discussion of the PFIC rules and the related tax considerations for U.S. investors, see the section of the IPO registration statement captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations - Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations - U.S. Holders - Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
In addition to the immediate consequences of a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, holding our successor’s shares or warrants following a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation could have different, potentially adverse, consequences as compared to those of holding our shares or warrants prior to any such change. For example, if we were to change our jurisdiction of incorporation from the Cayman Islands to Delaware, this could have a number of adverse consequences to non-U.S. Holders who own our successor’s shares or warrants by exposing them to U.S. taxation and reporting obligations, such as the taxation of dividends from our successor or the taxation of dispositions of our successor’s shares or warrants. Because such persons may not have prior notice of our change in jurisdiction, they may not be able to change the manner in which they hold our shares or warrants or dispose of our shares or warrants prior to any such change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, and therefore such persons may not be able to avoid any adverse consequences of holding our successor’s shares or warrants after such change.
40
Further, it is possible that we would change our jurisdiction of incorporation in anticipation of consummating a specific Business Combination but not complete that Business Combination for any number of reasons. If we are unable to consummate a Business Combination with a specific Business Combination target following such a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation, our new jurisdiction of incorporation could have disadvantages to us or our shareholders and/or warrant holders, particularly if we subsequently pursue a Business Combination with a target that is incorporated in a different jurisdiction. In such circumstances, we may not be as competitive with other special purpose acquisition companies incorporated in the Cayman Islands when pursuing certain target companies, the consummation of our initial Business Combination could be more complex, or it may be more difficult to structure such an initial Business Combination in a tax-efficient manner. For example, we may change our jurisdiction of incorporation to the United States in anticipation of a Business Combination with a U.S. target company but ultimately effect our initial Business Combination with a non-U.S. target company. In such a case, we may be unable to structure our initial Business Combination in a tax-deferred manner, and our shareholders and/or warrant holders may be required to pay substantial U.S. federal income or other taxes in connection with the consummation of the initial Business Combination. In addition, the initial Business Combination may result in tax inefficiencies for the post-Business Combination entity, including that, if the post-Business Combination entity is organized outside of the United States, it may nevertheless be treated as a U.S. corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which treatment may result in substantial tax inefficiencies for both the post-Business Combination entity and for our shareholders and/or warrant holders.
We cannot assure you when or whether we will change our jurisdiction of incorporation or, if we do change our jurisdiction of incorporation, the jurisdiction in which we will ultimately be incorporated. Accordingly, there is significant uncertainty as to the legal, tax and other considerations that may be applicable to us or to our shareholders and warrant holders, and we cannot provide you with specific or comprehensive examples of such potential consequences. The rules governing a change in our jurisdiction of incorporation and the transactions that may occur in connection with our initial Business Combination are complex, and the consequences arising from such rules or transactions will depend on a holder’s particular circumstances and on the circumstances surrounding our change in jurisdiction and initial Business Combination. All investors considering an investment in our securities are urged to consult with and rely solely upon their own legal and tax advisors regarding the potential consequences to them of any change in our jurisdiction of incorporation.
We may reincorporate in or transfer by way of continuation to another jurisdiction in connection with our initial Business Combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial Business Combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities.
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial Business Combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
After our initial Business Combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue will be derived from our operations in such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and legal policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial Business Combination and if we effect our initial Business Combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
41
Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
A change of ownership or control of our Sponsor could adversely affect our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination.
There are no restrictions on our Sponsor’s managing members’ ability to transfer equity interests in our Sponsor held by the managing members or otherwise consent to a transfer of such equity interests by another member of our Sponsor. Transfers of equity interests in the Sponsor or its direct or indirect parent entities may result in a change of ownership or control of our Sponsor. Such change of ownership or control of our Sponsor could adversely affect our ability to consummate our initial Business Combination, as there can be no assurances that a new sponsor will possess the requisite skills, investor relationships and expertise to select an appropriate target business, obtain the necessary financing and consummate the initial Business Combination.
We are dependent upon our executive officers, directors and advisors and their loss, or a reduction in the amount of time they can dedicate to our initial Business Combination, could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers, directors and the members of our advisory board. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers, directors and the members of our advisory board, at least until we have completed our initial Business Combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential Business Combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial Business Combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial Business Combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial Business Combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial Business Combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial Business Combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular Business Combination, and a particular Business Combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial Business Combination and, as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular Business Combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial Business Combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the Business Combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the Business Combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the Business Combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
42
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination.
Our executive 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. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial Business Combination. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial Business Combination target. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including other blank check companies, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial Business Combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our Sponsor, its managing members, and our officers and directors are, and in the future may become, affiliated with such entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business. We do not have employment contracts with our officers and directors that will limit their ability to work at other businesses. In addition, our Sponsor, officers and directors may participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other blank check company prior to completion of our 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 blank check company with which they may become involved. Our Sponsor, officers and directors have complete discretion, subject to applicable fiduciary duties, as to which blank check company they choose to pursue a Business Combination and the order in which they pursue Business Combinations for any of their existing or future blank check companies. As a result, our Sponsor, officers and directors may pursue Business Combinations for blank check companies that it has sponsored in any order, which could result in its more recent blank check companies completing Business Combinations prior to its blank check companies that were launched earlier. Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a Business Combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a Business Combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such Business Combination opportunity to such other entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. In addition, certain of our officers and directors are members of our Sponsor and own membership interests of our Sponsor. The remaining membership interests are held by third party investors that are not affiliated with members of our management. 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 Business Combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer, among other persons, shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us, and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which (a) may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other or (b) the presentation of which would breach an existing legal obligation of a director or officer to any other entity. The purpose for the surrender of corporate opportunities is to allow officers, directors or other representatives with multiple business affiliations to continue to serve as an officer of our Company or on our board of directors. Our officers and directors may from time to time be presented with opportunities that could benefit both another business affiliation and us. In the absence of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our charter, certain candidates would not be able to serve as an officer or director. We believe we substantially benefit from having representatives who bring significant, relevant and valuable experience to our management, and, as a result, the inclusion of the “corporate opportunity” waiver in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide us with greater flexibility to attract and retain the officers and directors that we feel are the best candidates. 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.
43
Our executive officers, directors, advisors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, advisors, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a Business Combination with a target business that is affiliated with our Sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. Any such companies, businesses or investments may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an initial Business Combination target.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a Business Combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular Business Combination are appropriate and in our best interest. If this were the case, it may be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and claims against such individuals may arise for a breach of such duties. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
Members of our management team and board of directors have significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies. Certain of those persons have been, are currently, or may become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including related to those companies or otherwise. This may have an adverse effect on us, which may impede our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination.
During the course of their careers, members of our management team and board of directors have had significant experience as founders, board members, officers, executives or employees of other companies including SPACs. Certain of those persons have been, are currently and may in the future become, involved in litigation, investigations or other proceedings, including but not limited to issues relating to breach of fiduciary duty and/or the business affairs of such companies, including SPACs; transactions entered into by such companies, including SPACs; or otherwise. Any such litigation, investigations or other proceedings may divert the attention and resources of our management team and board of directors away from identifying and selecting a target business or businesses for our initial Business Combination and may result in findings, orders, or other determinations adverse to members of our management team and board of directors or otherwise negatively affect our reputation, which may impede our ability to complete an initial Business Combination.
Members of our management team and affiliated companies may have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.
Members of our management team have been (and intend to be) involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may lead to, media coverage and public awareness. As a result, members of our management team and affiliated companies may have been, and may in the future be, involved in civil disputes or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such claims or investigations may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial Business Combination and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
44
Since our Sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial Business Combination is not completed (other than with respect to Public Shares they have acquired, or may in the future acquire, if any), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular Business Combination target is appropriate for our initial Business Combination.
On June 30, 2025, our Sponsor made a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our expenses, for which we issued 9,583,333 Founders Shares to our Sponsor. In July 2025, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to each of our then independent director nominees (for an aggregate of 90,000 Founder Shares), 50,000 Founder Shares to each of our advisors (for an aggregate of 150,000 Founder shares) and 100,000 Founder Shares to our Chief Financial Officer at the same per-share price that our Sponsor purchased such shares, or approximately $0.003 per share, resulting in our Sponsor holding 9,243,333 Founder Shares. On October 27, 2025, the Company effected a share capitalization of 1,916,667 Founder Shares, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 11,500,000 Founder Shares. On October 28, 2025, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option and forfeited the unexercised balance. As a result of the partial exercise and the forfeiture of the over-allotment option by the underwriters, 10,000 Founder Shares were forfeited by the Sponsor, resulting in the initial shareholders holding an aggregate of 11,490,000 Founder Shares. In March 2026, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to an independent director, resulting in the Sponsor holding 11,120,000 Founder Shares.
In addition, our Sponsor and Cohen purchased an aggregate of 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $8,894,000, or $1.00 per warrant. Of those 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants, our Sponsor purchased 5,447,000 Private Placement Warrants and Cohen purchased 3,447,000 Private Placement Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants will be worthless if we do not complete our initial Business Combination.
The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target Business Combination, completing an initial Business Combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial Business Combination. This risk may become more acute as the end of the Completion Window nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial Business Combination.
The non-managing Sponsor investors are not required to (i) hold any Units, Class A Ordinary Shares or Public Warrants they 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 as the rights afforded to our other Public Shareholders.
Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the Trust Account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our Public Shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the Trust Account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial Business Combination, and then only in connection with those Class A Ordinary Shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete our 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, and (iii) the redemption of our Public Shares if we are unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if our plan to redeem our Public Shares if we are unable to complete an initial Business Combination within the Completion Window for any reason, compliance with Cayman Islands law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing shareholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our Trust Account. In that case, Public Shareholders may be forced to wait beyond the Completion Window before they receive funds from our Trust Account. In no other circumstances will a Public Shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the Trust Account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the Trust Account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your Public Shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
45
Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
Our Units, Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq. We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial Business Combination. Additionally, in connection with our initial Business Combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| ● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | a determination that our Class A Ordinary Shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A Ordinary Shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| ● | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| ● | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our securities are listed on Nasdaq, they qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
The nominal purchase price paid by our Sponsor for the Founder Shares may result in significant dilution to the implied value of your Public Shares upon the consummation of our initial Business Combination, and our Sponsor is likely to make a substantial profit on its investment in us in the event we consummate an initial Business Combination, even if the Business Combination causes the trading price of our ordinary shares to materially decline.
Prior to our IPO, our Sponsor paid a nominal aggregate purchase price of $25,000 for the Founder Shares, or approximately $0.003 per share. As a result, the value of your Public Shares may be significantly diluted upon the consummation of our initial Business Combination, when the Founder Shares are converted into Public Shares.
46
The following table shows the Public Shareholders’ and our Sponsor’s investment per share and how these compare to the implied value of one Class A Ordinary Share upon the completion of our initial Business Combination. The following table assumes that (i) our valuation is $330,912,000 (which is the amount we would have in the Trust Account for our initial Business Combination following payment of the deferred underwriting commissions), (ii) no interest is earned on the funds held in the Trust Account, (iii) no Public Shares are redeemed in connection with our initial Business Combination and (iv) all Founder Shares are held by our initial shareholders upon completion of our initial Business Combination, and does not take into account other potential impacts on our valuation at the time of the initial Business Combination, such as (i) the value of our public and Private Placement Warrants, (ii) the trading price of our Class A Ordinary Shares, (iii) the initial Business Combination transaction costs (other than the payment of up to $13,788,000 of deferred underwriting commissions), (iv) any equity issued or cash paid to the target’s sellers, (v) any equity issued to other third party investors, or (vi) the target’s business itself.
| Public Shares: | 34,470,000 | |||
| Founder Shares: | 11,490,000 | |||
| Total shares: | 45,960,000 | |||
| Total funds in trust available for initial Business Combination (after payment of deferred underwriting commissions): | $ | 330,912,000 | ||
| Public Shareholders’ investment per Class A Ordinary Share: | $ | 10.00 | ||
| Sponsor’s investment per Class B Ordinary Share(1): | $ | 0.48 | ||
| Initial implied value per Public Share: | $ | 10.00 | ||
| Implied value per share upon consummation of initial Business Combination: | $ | 7.20 |
| (1) | The total investment of the Sponsor in the equity of the Company, inclusive of the purchase of Founder Shares totaling $25,000 and the Sponsor’s $5,447,000 investment in the Private Placement Warrants, is $5,472,000. |
Based on these assumptions, each Class A Ordinary Share would have an implied value of $7.20 per share upon completion of our initial Business Combination, representing an approximately 28% decrease from the initial implied value of $10.00 per Public Share. While the implied value of $7.20 per Class A Ordinary Share upon completion of our initial Business Combination would represent a dilution to our Public Shareholders, this would represent a significant increase in value for our Sponsor relative to the price it paid for each Founder Share. At $7.20 per Class A Ordinary Share, the 11,490,000 Class A Ordinary Shares that the Sponsor would own upon completion of our initial Business Combination (after automatic conversion of the 11,490,000 Founder Shares) would have an aggregate implied value of approximately $82,728,000. As a result, even if the trading price of our Class A Ordinary Shares significantly declines, the value of the Founder Shares held by our Sponsor will be significantly greater than the amount our Sponsor paid to purchase such shares. In addition, our Sponsor could potentially recoup its entire investment in our company even if the trading price of our Class A Ordinary Shares after the initial Business Combination is as low as $0.48 per share. As a result, our Sponsor is likely to earn a substantial profit on its investment in us upon disposition of its Class A Ordinary Shares even if the trading price of our Class A Ordinary Shares declines after we complete our initial Business Combination. Our Sponsor may therefore be economically incentivized to complete an initial Business Combination with a riskier, weaker-performing or less-established target business than would be the case if our Sponsor had paid the same per share price for the Founder Shares as our Public Shareholders paid for their Public Shares.
This dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Founder Shares result in the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Founder Shares at the time of our initial Business Combination and would become exacerbated to the extent that Public Shareholders seek redemptions from the trust for their Public Shares. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protection in the Founder Shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial Business Combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A Ordinary Shares.
The value of the Founder Shares following completion of our initial Business Combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per Public Share.
As a result of the IPO, our Sponsor has invested in us an aggregate of $5,472,000, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the Founder Shares and the $5,447,000 purchase price for the Private Placement Warrants. Assuming a trading price of $10.00 per Public Share upon consummation of our initial Business Combination, the 11,490,000 Founder Shares would have an aggregate implied value of $114,900,000. Even if the trading price of our ordinary shares were as low as $0.48 per share, and the Private Placement Warrants are worthless, the value of the Founder Shares would be equal to our Sponsor’s aggregate initial investment in us. As a result, our Sponsor is likely to be able to make a substantial profit on its investment in us at a time when our Public Shares have lost significant value. Accordingly, members of our management team, who own interests in our Sponsor, may be more willing to pursue a Business Combination with a riskier or less-established target business than would be the case if our Sponsor had paid the same per share price for the Founder Shares as our Public Shareholders paid for their Public Shares.
47
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands.
The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, Public Shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as Public Shareholders of a United States company.
After our initial Business Combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore, investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial Business Combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
48
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A Ordinary Shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the courts of the Cayman Islands are the exclusive forums for certain disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for complaints against us or our directors, officers or employees.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum.
This choice of forum provision may increase a shareholder’s cost and limit the shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any of our shares or other securities, whether by transfer, sale, operation of law or otherwise, shall be deemed to have notice of and have irrevocably agreed and consented to these provisions. There is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce such provisions, and the enforceability of similar choice of forum provisions in other companies’ charter documents has been challenged in legal proceedings. It is possible that a court could find this type of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable, and if a court were to find this provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving the dispute in other jurisdictions, which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial performance.
49
Economic substance legislation of the Cayman Islands may adversely impact us or our operations.
The Cayman Islands, together with several other non-European Union jurisdictions, have introduced legislation aimed at addressing concerns raised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative as to offshore structures engaged in certain activities which attract profits without real economic activity. The International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act, (As Revised) (the “Economic Substance Act”) contains economic substance requirements for in-scope Cayman Islands entities which are engaged in certain “relevant activities”. As we are a Cayman Islands company, our compliance obligations will include filing an annual notification, which need to state whether we are carrying out any relevant activities and if so, whether we have satisfied economic substance tests to the extent required under the Economic Substance Act. If the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority determines that the Company or any of its Cayman Islands subsidiaries has failed to meet the requirements imposed by the Economic Substance Act, the Company may face significant financial penalties, restriction on the regulation of its business activities and/or may be struck off as a registered entity in the Cayman Islands.
As it is still a relatively new regime, it is anticipated that the Economic Substance Act and associated guidance will evolve and may be subject to further clarification and amendments. We may need to allocate additional resources to keep updated with these developments, and may have to make changes to our operations in order to comply with all requirements under the Economic Substance Act. Failure to satisfy these requirements may subject us to penalties under the Economic Substance Act.
In addition, in order to comply with legislation, regulations and guidance aimed at the prevention of money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing, and sanctions legislation, the Company may be required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers and their beneficial owners, controllers or authorized persons (where applicable) (“Related Persons”) to provide evidence to verify their identity. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, the Company may also rely on, or delegate to, a suitable person the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information).
The Company reserves the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber or their Related Persons. In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
The Company also reserves the right to refuse to make any redemption payment to a shareholder if directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment of redemption proceeds to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering, sanctions or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money laundering, or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property, and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands (“FRA”), pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the FRA, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property.
The U.S. federal income tax consequences to a shareholder of a redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares will depend on such investor’s particular facts and circumstances.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares to a shareholder will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of such Class A Ordinary Shares under Section 302(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the shareholder electing to redeem Class A Ordinary Shares (including any shares constructively owned by the holder as a result of owning Private Placement Warrants or Public Warrants or otherwise) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. If such redemption is not treated as a sale of Class A Ordinary Shares for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the redemption will instead be treated as a corporate distribution of cash from us. For more information about the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares, see the sections entitled “Certain Income Tax Considerations - Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations - U.S. Holders - Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares” or “Certain Income Tax Considerations - Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations - Non-U.S. Holders,” as applicable.
50
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of Public Warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened, the number of Class A Ordinary Shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Efficiency, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision or mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement, (ii) adjusting the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants is required to make any such change. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the Public Warrants in a manner adverse to a holder of Public Warrants if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants approve of such amendment.
Although our ability to amend the terms of the Public Warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding Public Warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the Public Warrants, convert the Public Warrants into cash or shares, shorten the exercise period, decrease the number of Class A Ordinary Shares purchasable upon exercise of a Public Warrant.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. With respect to any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, we note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement do not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder. This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
51
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination.
If (i) we issue additional ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial Business Combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per Class A Ordinary Share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial Business Combination, and (iii) the Market Value of our Class A Ordinary Shares is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described in Exhibit 4.5 “Description of Securities” to this Form 10-K will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial Business Combination with a target business.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described elsewhere in this Form 10-K) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing at least 30 days after completion of our initial Business Combination and ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrants holders and provided certain other conditions are met. We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A Ordinary Shares is available throughout the measurement period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in the IPO. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial Business Combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 17,350,000 of Class A Ordinary Shares in connection with the IPO and, simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants, at $1.00 per warrant. In addition, if our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers or directors makes any working capital loans (as described below in “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence”), such lender may convert those loans into up to an additional 1,500,000 Private Placement Warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant. To the extent we issue ordinary shares to effectuate a business transaction, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A Ordinary Shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares and reduce the value of the Class A Ordinary Shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Holders of Class A Ordinary Shares will not be entitled to vote on continuing the Company in a jurisdiction outside of the Cayman Islands.
As holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares, our Public Shareholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and continuing our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (including any special resolution required to amend our constitutional documents or to adopt new constitutional documents, in each case, as a result of our approving a transfer by way of continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands). In addition, prior to our initial Business Combination, holders of a majority of our Founder Shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you will not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial Business Combination.
52
You will not be permitted to exercise your warrants unless we register and qualify the underlying Class A Ordinary Shares or certain exemptions are available.
If the issuance of the Class A Ordinary Shares upon exercise of the warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification under the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, holders of warrants will not be entitled to exercise such warrants and such warrants may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of Units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units.
We registered the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants in the registration statement for our IPO, because the warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination, which may be within one year of the IPO. However, because the warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial Business Combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act following the consummation of our initial Business Combination, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of our initial Business Combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement of our IPO, 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 our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, under the terms of the warrant agreement, holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do so for cash and, instead, will be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption.
In no event will warrants be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration or qualification is available.
If our 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 “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, not permit holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants to do so for cash and, instead, require them to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement or register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities (other than upon a cashless exercise as described above) or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under the Securities Act or applicable state securities laws.
53
You may only be able to exercise your Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” under certain circumstances, and if you do so, you will receive fewer Class A Ordinary Shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The warrant agreement provides that in the following circumstances holders of warrants who seek to exercise their warrants will not be permitted to do for cash and will, instead, be required to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act: (i) if the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the terms of the warrant agreement; (ii) if we have so elected and 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 “covered securities” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act; and (iii) if we have so elected and we call the Public Warrants for redemption.
If you exercise your Public Warrants on a cashless basis, you 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 our Class A Ordinary Shares (as defined in the next sentence) 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. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A Ordinary Shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our Sponsor, the underwriters and other holders of our Private Placement Warrants may make it more difficult to complete our initial Business Combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in the IPO, our Sponsor, the underwriters of the IPO and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Class A Ordinary Shares into which Founder Shares are convertible, holders of our Private Placement Warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or holders of securities that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and their permitted transferees may demand that we register such Units, shares, warrants or the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants and any other securities of the Company acquired by them prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial Business Combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A Ordinary Shares that is expected when the ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders, holders of our Private Placement Warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
General Risk Factors
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a blank check company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we did not commence operations until obtaining funding through the IPO. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial Business Combination. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a Business Combination and may be unable to complete our initial Business Combination. If we fail to complete our initial Business Combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
54
Past performance by our management team, our advisors and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding our management team, our advisors and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance by our management team, our advisors and their respective affiliates and the businesses with which they have been associated, is not a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial Business Combination, that we will be able to provide positive returns to our shareholders, or of any results with respect to any initial Business Combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical experiences of our management team, our advisors and their respective affiliates, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or as indicative of every prior investment by each of the members of our management team, our advisors or their respective affiliates. The market price of our securities may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, and our shareholders may experience losses on their investment in our securities.
Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of the IPO registration statement captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations - Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations - U.S Holders”) of our Class A Ordinary Shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of the IPO registration statement captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations - Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations - U.S. Holders - Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Moreover, if we determine that we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and under current law such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules in general, and in particular to our warrants. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of the IPO registration statement captioned “Certain Income Tax Considerations - Material United States Federal Income Tax Considerations - U.S. Holders - Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
The Excise Tax could be imposed on redemptions of our ordinary shares if we were to become a “covered corporation” in the future.
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, among other things, generally imposes a 1% U.S. federal excise tax (the “Excise Tax”) on certain repurchases of stock by “covered corporations” (which include publicly traded domestic (i.e., U.S.) corporations and certain domestic subsidiaries of publicly traded foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporations). The Excise Tax is imposed on the repurchasing corporation itself, not its stockholders from which the stock is repurchased. The amount of the Excise Tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. However, for purposes of calculating the Excise Tax, repurchasing corporations are permitted to net the fair market value of certain new stock issuances against the fair market value of stock repurchases during the same taxable year (the “netting rule”). In addition, certain exceptions apply to the Excise Tax. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) has authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, the Excise Tax. In June of 2024, the Treasury and IRS issued final Treasury regulations on the reporting and payment of the Excise Tax. In November of 2025, the Treasury and IRS issued final Treasury regulations on the computation of the Excise Tax.
55
We are currently not a “covered corporation” for purposes of the Excise Tax. Accordingly, we generally would not be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of our stock, whether in connection with the consummation of our initial Business Combination or otherwise. If we were to become a “covered corporation” in the future, whether in connection with the consummation of our initial Business Combination with a U.S. company (including if we were to redomicile as a U.S. corporation in connection therewith) or otherwise, whether and to what extent we would be subject to the Excise Tax on a redemption of our stock would depend on a number of factors, including (i) whether the redemption is treated as a repurchase of stock for purposes of the Excise Tax, (ii) the fair market value of the redemption treated as a repurchase of stock, (iii) the structure of our initial Business Combination, (iv) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances (whether in connection with our initial Business Combination or otherwise) issued within the same taxable year of a redemption treated as a repurchase of stock and (v) other guidance from the Treasury. As noted above, the Excise Tax would be payable by the repurchasing corporation, and not by the redeeming holder. The imposition of the Excise Tax on us as a result of redemptions by us could, however, reduce the amount of cash available to the target business in connection with our initial Business Combination, which could cause investors in our securities who do not redeem or the other shareholders of the combined company to economically bear the impact of such Excise Tax. However, we will not use the proceeds placed in the Trust Account, or the interest earned on the proceeds placed in the Trust Account, to pay for possible Excise Tax or any other fees or taxes that may be levied on us on any redemptions or stock buybacks by us pursuant to any current, pending or further rules or laws, including without limitation any Excise Tax, prior to release of such funds from the Trust Account following our initial Business Combination.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies or smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor internal controls attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A Ordinary Shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of December 31 in the same year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues equaled or exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates is equal to or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
If we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, we may still be subject to reduced reporting requirements so long as we qualify as a smaller reporting company.
56
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial Business Combination.
The market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial Business Combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-Business Combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-Business Combination entity’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial Business Combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial Business Combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-Business Combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-Business Combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial Business Combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, or other national, regional or international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to complete our initial Business Combination.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity
Item 2. Properties
Our executive offices are located at 2035 Regatta Drive Vero Beach, Florida 32963. Our executive offices are provided to us by our Sponsor, and we have agreed to pay our Sponsor $20,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
57
Part II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our Units, Class A Ordinary Shares, and Public Warrants are listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “APXTU,” “APXT” and “APXTW”, respectively.
Holders
As of March 25, 2026, there was 1 holder of record of our Units, 1 holder of record of our Class A Ordinary Shares, 8 holders of record of our Class B Ordinary Shares, and 4 holders of record of our warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of an initial Business Combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of an initial Business Combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial Business Combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities and Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
None.
58
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on June 26, 2025. We are formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We may pursue an initial Business Combination in any business or industry but expect to target opportunities and companies that are in the blockchain & digital assets, crypto treasury strategies, AI, B2B software, data services, renewable energy, and build-to-rent real estate assets sectors. We are an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete a Business Combination will be successful.
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the Trust Account. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the period from June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, we had a net income of $2,019,588, which consisted of interest earned on cash and securities held in Trust Account of $2,290,935, partially offset by general and administrative costs of $271,347.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On October 29, 2025, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 34,470,000 Units, which includes the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option in the amount of 4,470,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $344,700,000 Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, in a private placement to the Sponsor and Cohen, as representative of the underwriters, generating gross proceeds of $8,894,000.
Following the Initial Public Offering, the partial exercise of the over-allotment option, and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, a total of $344,700,000 was placed in the Trust Account. We incurred $21,407,663 in IPO related costs, consisting of $6,894,000 of cash underwriting fees, $13,788,000 of deferred underwriting fees, and $725,663 of other costs.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
For the period from June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, net cash used in operating activities was $369,663. Net income of $2,019,588 was offset by interest earned on cash and securities held in Trust Account of $2,290,935, payment of operation costs through promissory note of $42,344 and changes in operating assets and liabilities, which used $140,660 of cash from operating activities.
59
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing earnings on the Trust Account (less taxes payable, if any), to complete our Business Combination. To the extent that our share capital or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 31, 2025, we had $991,532 cash and a working capital surplus of $989,392. We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such 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, upon consummation of the initial Business Combination. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a Business Combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our Business Combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our Business Combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our Public Shares upon consummation of our Business Combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such Business Combination.
Off-Balance Sheet Financing Arrangements
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2025. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
Administrative Services and Indemnification Agreement
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay the Sponsor up to $20,000 per month for office space and administrative support services during the Completion Window.
The Company agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor and its directors, officers, employees, principals, managers, partners, members, shareholders, equity holders, control persons, affiliates, agents, advisors, consultants and representatives (the “Indemnitees”) from any claims, losses, liabilities, obligations, causes of action, proceedings (whether pending or threatened), investigations, damages, awards, settlements, judgments, decrees, fees, costs, penalties, amounts paid in settlement or expenses (including interest, assessments and other charges in connection therewith and reasonable fees and disbursements of attorneys and other professional advisors and costs of suit) arising out of or relating to any pending or threatened claim, action, suit, proceeding or investigation against any of them or in which any of them may be a participant or may otherwise be involved (including as a witness) that arises out of or relates to (i) the IPO of the Company’s securities or the Company’s operations or conduct of its business (including, for the avoidance of doubt, a Business Combination), or (ii) any claim against the Sponsor alleging any expressed or implied management or endorsement by the Sponsor of any activities of the Company or any express or implied association between the Sponsor, on the one hand, and the Company or any of its affiliates, on the other hand.
60
Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters are entitled to a deferred underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit sold in the IPO, or $6,894,000 in the aggregate. In addition, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.40 per Unit, or $13,788,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, but such $0.40 per Unit shall be due to the underwriters solely on amounts remaining in the Trust Account following all properly submitted shareholder redemptions, including in connection with the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgement. 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 materially differ from those estimates. As of December 31, 2025, we did not have any critical accounting estimates.
Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified in temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as stockholders’ equity. Our Public Shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2025, the Public Shares are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity (deficit) section of our balance sheet. We recognize changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for the security.
Recent Accounting Standards
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 yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
This information appears following Item 15 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
61
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer or persons performing similar functions, 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, 2025. 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 were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not applicable.
62
Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance Officers and Directors
Our executive officers and directors are as follows:
| NAME | AGE | POSITION | ||
| Ajmal Rahman | 62 | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman | ||
| Hugh Cochrane | 61 | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
| James McNaught-Davis | 65 | Head of Mergers and Acquisitions | ||
| Paul Sykes | 60 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| William Mann | 49 | Director | ||
| Stephen CuUnjieng | 66 | Director | ||
| Betty Liu | 53 | Director |
Ajmal Rahman, 62, has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our board of directors since June 2025. Previously, Mr. Rahman served as Chairman of Celex Oncology Innovations Ltd from July 2020 to November 2021. From December 2016 to June 2020, Mr. Rahman served as Chairman of WElink Energy Investments (U.K.) Limited, a global renewable energy and infrastructure business. Prior to that, Mr. Rahman was Chief Executive Officer and Director of Antev Ltd, a UK-based biotechnology company focused on urological oncology, from September 2015 to January 2020. From July 2020 to November 2021, Mr. Rahman served as a director of Celex Oncology. Mr. Rahman began his career at Merrill Lynch in 1986, where he served until 2003 in senior investment banking roles across London, New York, and Hong Kong. Mr. Rahman earned a Master of Arts in Law from Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. We believe Mr. Rahman is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his global financial markets experience.
Hugh Cochrane, 61, has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer and director on our board of directors since June 2025. Mr. Cochrane is currently the Managing Director of SVK Crypto GP and a Director of Cryptogon Management Ltd., positions he has held since co-founding Cryptogon EOS LP in April 2018. From August 2014 to April 2021, Mr. Cochrane was Co-Founder, Director and Chief Investment Officer of SVK Capital Management Ltd., a London-based investment advisory firm specializing in IPOs and global equity trading strategies. SVK Capital Management Ltd. entered voluntary administration in April 2021. Prior to this, he founded Villay Asset Management Ltd. in 2000, a firm focused on global equity and fixed income new issues, which he led until 2017. Mr. Cochrane was a founding investor and non-executive director of Plasticell Ltd., a UK-based stem cell technology company from 2006 to 2018. Mr. Cochrane currently serves on the board of Ordre International, a blockchain-enabled fashion technology company innovating in the luxury retail sector. Mr. Cochrane received a B.A. in Government and Foreign Affairs and Spanish from the University of Virginia. We believe Mr. Cochrane is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive business and investment experience.
James McNaught-Davis, 65, has served as our Head of Mergers and Acquisitions since July 2025. Since September 2024, Mr. McNaught-Davis has held the position of Managing Partner and Founder of Sustainability Partners, a sustainability focused deal advisory and management consulting firm. He also serves as Chairman of the board of directors of HyOrc Corporation Inc., a U.S.-listed company providing hydrogen and methanol fueled engines to both the rail and stationary power sectors, since August 2024. Between April 2022 and September 2024, he also served as a Partner of Deep Energy Capital LLP, a specialist geothermal energy investment firm. From January 2017 to April 2022, Mr. McNaught-Davis was a Partner at Sustainability Investors, a sustainability focused private equity investment and advisory firm. From July 2007 and January 2017, he served as the Managing Partner of WHEB Partners LLP, a sustainability focused investment firm. Prior to that, he was a Partner at Advent Ventures from December 2001 to October 2007, overseeing investments in information technology and telecommunications technology sectors. Mr. McNaught-Davis transitioned to private equity in 1996, joining Warburg Pincus in New York as a Vice President and in 1998 was promoted to Managing Director and Partner in London until 2001. Prior to that, Mr. McNaught-Davis was an Executive Vice President at Misys Plc and a Corporate Development Officer at Guinness Plc. He began his professional career in financial services as an Assistant Manager at Schroders in Project Finance followed by a Vice President role at Merrill Lynch in Equity Capital Markets. Following his undergraduate degree, he served as a Lieutenant in the British Army, mostly stationed in Germany. Mr. McNaught-Davis earned a Master of Arts degree with honors from the University of Cambridge and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Paul Sykes, 60, has served as our Chief Financial Officer since July 2025. Most recently, Mr. Sykes served as Chief Financial Officer of Springbig Holdings, Inc. from April 2021 to May 2025, a Nasdaq-listed SaaS platform for cannabis retailers, and led the company’s public listing via a de-SPAC merger. Prior to joining SpringBig, Mr. Sykes was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Nordis Technologies from February 2018 through July 2020 and Chief Financial Officer of dmg information, the U.S. based business information group of London stock exchange listed DMGT plc, from 1997 to 2017. Mr. Sykes started his career with KPMG in the United Kingdom.
63
William Mann, 49, has served on our board of directors since October 27, 2025. In October 2024, Mr. Mann co-founded HarmoniQ Insights LLC, a micro venture capital fund investing at the intersection of data, finance, and technology, and currently serves as its Managing Partner. From January 2016 to September 2023, Mr. Mann served as a Senior Vice President at Two Sigma Investments LLC, leading initiatives to scale alpha modeling and integrate ML and AI into the firm’s research workflows. Prior to Two Sigma Investments LLC, Mr. Mann held leadership roles at Bloomberg LP and AQR Capital Management. Mr. Mann began his career in public accounting. Mr. Mann earned a B.S. degree in accounting from Tulane University. We believe Mr. Mann is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his finance experience.
Stephen CuUnjieng, 66, has served on our board of directors since March 13, 2026. Mr. CuUnjieng is a senior financier and board member with deep relationships throughout Asia within the financial sponsor, entrepreneur, and corporate communities. Since September 2025, Mr. CuUnjieng has served as the Lead Independent Director of First Philippine Holdings Corporation, a holding company with principal interests in the renewable energy sector. Since July 2025, Mr. CuUnjieng has served as an independent director of Maharlika Investment Fund, the Philippine’s sovereign wealth fund, and as Chairman of its Investment Committee. Between 2020 and 2022, Mr. CuUnjieng served as a board member of AvePoint (Nasdaq: AVPT), a data security company, and, between 2022 and 2023, he served as an advisor to the board. From 2011 to 2020, Mr. CuUnjieng served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Evercore Asia, a subsidiary of Evercore Inc. (NYSE: EVR), a global independent investment banking advisory firm. Prior to Evercore, Mr. CuUnjieng was at Macquarie Group from 2004 to 2009, where he most recently served as Vice Chairman—Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”). Mr. CuUnjieng was also a Managing Director and Head of Power and Energy at Merrill Lynch Asia Pacific, from 1996 to 2000, and has held senior investment banking positions at Salomon Brothers Hong Kong, Morgan Grenfell Asia and PCIBank (formerly PSE: PCI). We believe Mr. CuUnjieng is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of his extensive experience in the banking industry.
Betty Liu, 54, has served on our board of directors since October 27, 2025. Most recently, Ms. Liu served on the board of global beauty leader, L’Occitane International, from October 2022 to November 2024, where she was a member of the Remuneration, Nomination & Governance, and Sustainability Committees. From November 2023 to January 2025, she served as Independent Board Director and Chairman of the Compensation Committee at Captivision, Inc. (Nasdaq:CAPT), a global manufacturer of large-scale digital media glass that went public in November 2023 through a deSPAC transaction with Jaguar Global Growth Corporation where she previously served as an Advisor. From July 2021 to August 2023, she served as Senior Advisor to Black Spade Acquisition Corp. which completed its deSPAC transaction with VinFast (Nasdaq:VFS), the leading auto manufacturer in Vietnam and a member of the conglomerate, Vingroup. Previously, Ms. Liu was the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of D and Z Media Acquisition Corp., a NYSE-listed special purpose acquisition company focused on the media and education technology sectors, from January 2021 to January 2023. From July 2018 to December 2020, Ms. Liu was Executive Vice Chair of the New York Stock Exchange and Chief Experience Officer at Intercontinental Exchange. Previously, Ms. Liu was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Radiate, an edtech platform focused on training millennials in soft skills, from March 2016 to June 2018. Ms. Liu began her career in journalism and has deep expertise in financial storytelling and public company communications. Ms. Liu earned a B.A. degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. We believe Ms. Liu is qualified to serve on our board of directors because of her public company board service and SPAC experience.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of five 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 Stephen CuUnjieng , will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of William Mann and Betty Liu, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Ajmal Rahman and Hugh Cochrane, 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
The rules of Nasdaq require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. 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). Our board of directors has determined that each of William Mann, Stephen CuUnjieng and Betty Liu is an “independent director” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
64
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Each of our audit committee and our compensation committee are composed solely of independent directors. 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, and the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee operates under a charter that was approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
The members of our audit committee are William Mann, Stephen CuUnjieng and Betty Liu. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of William Mann, Stephen CuUnjieng and Betty Liu meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act. William Mann serves as chair of the audit committee.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that William Mann qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and has accounting or related financial management expertise.
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 registered public accounting firm 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. |
65
Compensation Committee
The members of our compensation committee are Betty Liu and Stephen CuUnjieng. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Betty Liu and Stephen CuUnjieng is independent. Betty Liu chairs the compensation committee.
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 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; |
| ● | 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. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, other than the payment of $20,000 per month to our Sponsor for office space and administrative support services and reimbursement of expenses and the payment of $10,000 per month to our Chief Financial Officer for his services as the Chief Financial Officer, we currently have no agreements to pay compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial Business Combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial Business Combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial Business Combination.
The compensation committee charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, independent 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.
66
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) 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 our 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 participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are William Mann, Stephen CuUnjieng and Betty Liu. In accordance with Rule 5605 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, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Insider Trading Policy and Committee Charters
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to this Form 10-K. You are able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics and the charters of the committees of our board of directors can be provided without charge upon request from us. 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. The information included on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K or in any other report or document we file with the SEC, and any references to our website are intended to be inactive textual references only.
We have also
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We have purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
67
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the Trust Account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the Trust Account or (ii) we consummate an initial Business Combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
None of our directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered. We pay our Sponsor $20,000 for office space and administrative support services to members of our management team until the consummation of our initial Business Combination. We pay our Chief Financial Officer $10,000 per month for his services as the Chief Financial Officer. Except for the foregoing payments to our Sponsor and Chief Financial Officer, we currently have no agreements to pay compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, to our Sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of theirs, for services rendered prior to, or for any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial Business Combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be entitled to certain payments including, but not limited to, reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial Business Combination will be made using funds held outside the Trust Account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial Business Combination.
After the completion of our initial Business Combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation 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 officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial Business Combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial Business Combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial Business Combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential Business Combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
68
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 26, 2026, by:
| ● | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| ● | each of our officers and directors; and |
| ● | all our officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table below have sole voting and investment power with respect to all ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect beneficial ownership of the Public Warrants or Private Placement Warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Form 10-K.
We have based our calculation of the percentage of beneficial ownership on 34,470,000 Class A Ordinary Shares and 11,490,000 Class B Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding as of March 26, 2026.
| Class A | Class B | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ordinary Shares | Ordinary Shares | Approximate | ||||||||||||||||||
| Number of | Number of | Percentage of | ||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Approximate | Shares | Approximate | Outstanding | ||||||||||||||||
| Beneficially | Percentage of | Beneficially | Percentage of | Ordinary | ||||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Owned | Class | Owned(2) | Class | Shares | |||||||||||||||
| Directors and Officers | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ajmal Rahman(3) | - | - | 11,120,000 | 96.8 | % | 24.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| Hugh Cochrane(3) | - | - | 11,120,000 | 96.8 | % | 24.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| James McNaught-Davis | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||||||||||
| Paul Sykes | - | - | 100,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| William Mann | - | - | 30,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| Stephen CuUnjieng | - | - | 30,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| Betty Liu | - | - | 30,000 | * | * | |||||||||||||||
| All officers and directors as a group (7 individuals) | - | - | 11,490,000 | 100.0 | % | 25.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Five Percent Holders | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Apex Treasury Sponsor LLC(3) | - | - | 11,120,000 | 96.8 | % | 19.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| Adage Capital Management, L.P.(4) | 2,250,000 | 6.5 | % | - | - | 4.9 | % | |||||||||||||
| Meteora Capital, LLC(5) | 2,739,443 | 7.9 | % | - | - | 6.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| * | Less than 1% |
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Apex Treasury Corporation, 2035 Regatta Drive, Vero Beach, Florida 32963. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of Founder Shares, classified as Class B Ordinary Shares. 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 holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. |
| (3) | Apex Treasury Sponsor LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. Ajmal Rahman and Hugh Cochrane are managers of Apex Treasury Sponsor LLC and have voting and investment discretion over the securities held by Apex Treasury Sponsor LLC. |
| (4) | According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 12, 2026 by (i) Adage Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“ACM”), as the investment manager of Adage Capital Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership (“ACP”), with respect to the shares directly held by ACP; (ii) Robert Atchinson (“Mr. Atchinson”), as (1) managing member of Adage Capital Advisors, L.L.C., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ACA”), managing member of Adage Capital Partners GP, L.L.C., a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (“ACPGP”), general partner of ACP and (2) managing member of Adage Capital Partners LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“ACPLLC”), general partner of ACM, with respect to the shares directly held by ACP; and (iii) Phillip Gross (“Mr. Gross”), as (1) managing member of ACA, managing member of ACPGP and (2) managing member of ACPLLC, general partner of ACM, with respect to the shares held by ACP. The address of the principal business office for each of the foregoing is 200 Clarendon Street, 52nd Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. |
| (5) |
According to a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 13, 2026 by Meteora Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Meteora Capital”), with respect to the shares held by (i) certain funds and managed accounts to which Meteora Capital serves as investment manager (collectively, the “Meteora Funds”); and (ii) Vik Mittal, who serves as the Managing Member of Meteora Capital, with respect to the shares held by the Meteora Funds. The address of the principal business office for each of the foregoing is 1200 N Federal Hwy, #200, Boca Raton FL 33432. |
69
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Founder Shares
On June 30, 2025, our Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 9,583,333 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share. In July 2025, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to each of our then independent directors nominees (for an aggregate of 90,000 Founder Shares), 50,000 Founder Shares to each of our advisors (for an aggregate of 150,000 Founder shares) and 100,000 Founder Shares to our Chief Financial Officer at the same per-share price that our Sponsor purchased such shares, or approximately $0.003 per share, resulting in our Sponsor holding 9,243,333 Founder Shares. In March 2026, our Sponsor transferred 30,000 Founder Shares to an independent director, resulting in our Sponsor holding 11,120,000 Founder Shares. The number of Founder Shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such Founder Shares would represent 25% of the outstanding shares after the IPO.
Private Placement Warrants
Our Sponsor and Cohen purchased an aggregate of 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $8,894,000, or $1.00 per warrant, in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of the IPO. Of those 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants, our Sponsor purchased 5,447,000 Private Placement Warrants and Cohen purchased 3,447,000 Private Placement Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the Units in the IPO except that, so long as they are held by our Sponsor, Cohen or their respective permitted transferees, (i) may not (including the underlying securities), 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) and will be entitled to registration rights and (iii) with respect to Private Placement Warrants held by Cohen and/or their respective designees, will not be exercisable more than five years from the commencement of sales in the IPO in accordance with FINRA Rule 5110(g)(8). A portion of the purchase price of the Private Placement Warrants were added to the proceeds from the IPO to be held in the Trust Account such that $344,700,000 is held in the Trust Account. If we do not complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants and Private Placement Warrants are subject to the transfer restrictions described above. Otherwise, the Private Placement Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the units being sold in the IPO.
Administrative Services and Indemnification Agreement
We entered into an Administrative Services and Indemnification Agreement with our Sponsor in connection with the IPO. Pursuant to the terms of that agreement, we agreed to pay our Sponsor $20,000 per month for office space and administrative support services provided to us and members of our management team. Upon completion of our initial Business Combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Except for the foregoing payment to our Sponsor, and the $10,000 per month we pay to our Chief Financial Officer for his services as the Chief Financial Officer, we currently have no agreements to pay compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, to our Sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial Business Combination without shareholder approval. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable Business Combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our Sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates.
Promissory Note
On June 30, 2025 the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note is non-interest bearing, unsecured and due on the earlier of December 31, 2025 or the closing of the IPO. As of December 31, 2025, there are no amounts outstanding and no further borrowings are permitted under the Note.
70
Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial Business Combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required on a non-interest basis. If we complete an initial Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants, including as to exercisability and exercise price. 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 our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our Trust Account. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such working capital loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. As of December 31, 2025, the Company had no borrowings under the working capital loans.
Any of the foregoing payments to our Sponsor, repayments of loans from our Sponsor or repayments of working capital loans prior to our initial Business Combination will be made using funds held outside the Trust Account.
After our initial Business Combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer documents or at the time of a shareholder meeting held to consider our initial Business Combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-Business Combination entity to determine executive and director compensation.
Registration Rights Agreement
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the working capital loans), are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed in connection with the IPO. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Transfer Agency and Trustee Services Agreement
Our Transfer Agency and Trustee Services Agreement with Efficiency, dated as of August 21, 2025, or the TATSA, states that Efficiency may receive a fee from the designated asset manager that manages the Trust Account. The TATSA further provides that Efficiency would share some or all of such fee with our Sponsor. In December 2025, our Sponsor informed the Audit Committee of our board of directors that, under a separate agreement it had with Efficiency, Efficiency would make a monthly payment to our Sponsor out of such fee in an amount equal to 9 basis points of the amount held in the Trust Account from time to time, or approximately $25,000 to $27,000 per month. On March 5, 2026, following discussions with the Audit Committee, our Sponsor entered into a letter agreement with us pursuant to which our Sponsor transferred the $81,035.81 it had already received from Efficiency into our operating account and instructed Efficiency to pay all future amounts directly into our operating account. The letter agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.10 to this Annual Report, provides that these funds will only be used for the same purposes, and only be expended subject to the same internal controls and procedures, as the $1,300,000 of IPO proceeds initially transferred into our operating account. The payments received from Efficiency do not reduce the principal or interest held in the Trust Account.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The firm of WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“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 June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, fees for our independent registered public accounting firm were $122,595 for the services Withum performed in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the audit of our December 31, 2025 financial statements included in this Form 10-K.
Audit-Related Fees. During the period from June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, 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 June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, 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 June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, there were no fees billed for products and services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm other than those set forth above.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
71
Part IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K: |
| 1. | Financial Statements: See “Index to Financial Statements” at “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” herein. |
| (b) | 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. |
| (c) | Exhibits: The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Form 10-K. |
Exhibit Index
72
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
None.
73
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| APEX TREASURY CORPORATION | ||
| By: | /s/ Hugh Cochrane | |
| Name: | Hugh Cochrane | |
| Title: | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | |
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | ||
| Dated: March 26, 2026 | ||
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Hugh Cochrane, Ajmal Rahman, and Paul Sykes, and each or any one of them, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him and in his name or for her and in her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this 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 Act of 1933, as amended, this Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Title | Date | ||
| /s/ Hugh Cochrane | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 26, 2026 | ||
| Hugh Cochrane | (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Ajmal Rahman | Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman | March 26, 2026 | ||
| Ajmal Rahman | (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Paul Sykes | Chief Financial Officer | March 26, 2026 | ||
| Paul Sykes | (Principal Financial and Principal Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ William Mann | Director | March 26, 2026 | ||
| William Mann | ||||
| /s/ Stephen T. CuUnjieng | Director | March 26, 2026 | ||
| Stephen T. CuUnjieng | ||||
| /s/ Betty Liu | Director | March 26, 2026 | ||
| Betty Liu |
74
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of
Apex Treasury Corporation:
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2025, and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ deficit, and cash flows for the period from June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, 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, 2025, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, 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 audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit 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 audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit 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 audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2025.
New York,
March 26, 2026
PCAOB ID Number
F-2
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2025
| Assets: | ||||
| Current Assets | ||||
| Cash | $ | |||
| Prepaid insurance | ||||
| Total Current Assets | ||||
| Long-term prepaid insurance | ||||
| Cash and securities held in Trust Account | ||||
| Total Assets | $ | |||
| Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||
| Current Liabilities | ||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | |||
| Accrued offering costs | ||||
| Total Current Liabilities | ||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | ||||
| Total Liabilities | ||||
| Commitments and Contingencies (Note 7) | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, $ | ||||
| Shareholders’ Deficit | ||||
| Preference shares, $ | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $ | ||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $ | ||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ||
| Total Shareholders’ Deficit | ( | ) | ||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit | $ | |||
| (1) |
| (2) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of this financial statement.
F-3
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 26, 2025 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025
| Formation, general and administrative costs | $ | |||
| Loss from operations | ( | ) | ||
| Other income: | ||||
| Interest earned on cash and securities held in Trust Account | ||||
| Other income | ||||
| Net income | $ | |||
| Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding of Class A Ordinary Shares | ||||
| Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share, Class A Ordinary Shares | $ | |||
| Basic weighted average shares outstanding of Class B Ordinary Shares(1)(2) | ||||
| Basic net income per ordinary share, Class B Ordinary Shares | $ | |||
| Diluted weighted average shares outstanding of Class B Ordinary Shares(1)(2) | ||||
| Diluted net income per ordinary share, Class B Ordinary Shares | $ |
| (1) |
| (2) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of this financial statement.
F-4
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 26, 2025 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025
| Class A Ordinary Shares | Class B Ordinary Shares | Additional Paid-in | Accumulated | Total Shareholders’ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | Deficit | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance — June 26, 2025 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B shares to Sponsor(1)(2) | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion for Class A ordinary shares to redemption amount | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of Private Placement Warrants | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fair value of Public Warrants at issuance | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Allocated value of transaction costs to Class A shares | — | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of Founder Shares (2) | — | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2025 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
| (1) |
| (2) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of this financial statement.
F-5
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JUNE 26, 2025 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2025
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: | ||||
| Net income | $ | |||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||
| Payment of formation, general, and administrative costs through promissory note – related party | ||||
| Interest earned on cash and securities held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||
| Change in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||
| Prepaid insurance | ( | ) | ||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses | ||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: | ||||
| Investment of cash into Trust Account | ( | ) | ||
| Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ) | ||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid | ||||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placements Warrants | ||||
| Repayment of promissory note - related party | ( | ) | ||
| Payment of offering costs | ( | ) | ||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||
| Net Change in Cash | ||||
| Cash – Beginning of period | ||||
| Cash – End of period | $ | |||
| Non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||
| Offering costs included in accrued offering costs | $ | |||
| Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares | $ | |||
| Deferred offering costs paid through promissory note – related party | $ | |||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | |||
| Forfeiture of Founder Shares | $ | |||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of this financial statement.
F-6
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION, BUSINESS OPERATIONS, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on
As of December 31, 2025, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from
The registration statements for the Company’s Initial Public Offering became effective pursuant to Section 8(a) of the Securities Act on October 27, 2025. On October 29, 2025, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of
Transaction costs amounted to $
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, on October 29, 2025, an amount of $
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete a Business Combination with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least
F-7
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “public shareholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of a 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 Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $
The Company will proceed with a Business Combination only if a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 6) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or don’t vote at all.
Notwithstanding the above, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of a Business Combination and the Company does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of
The Sponsor, officers, directors, and advisors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares (as defined in Note 6) held and any Public Shares they may acquire during or after the Initial Public Offering in connection with the completion of Business Combination, except that Public Shares held by the initial shareholders will be subject to mandatory redemption upon any diminution of the Trust Account in connection with an extension, and such shares will be entitled to redemption at a price equal to the per share redemption value then held in the Trust Account in connection therewith.
The Company will have until 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to complete a Business Combination. However, the Company anticipates that it may not be able to consummate a Business Combination within such period, the Company may, but is not obligated to, by resolution of the board if requested by the initial shareholders, extend the period of time to consummate a Business Combination the Company may seek shareholder approval to amend the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which the Company must consummate the initial Business Combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval for an extension, holders of public shares will be offered an opportunity to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, the Company’s initial Business Combination, at a per share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned thereon (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law).
There is no limit on the number or length of extensions that the Company may seek; however, the Company does not expect to extend the time period to consummate the initial Business Combination beyond 36 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. If the Company determines not to or is unable to extend the time period to consummate the initial Business Combination or fails to obtain shareholder approval to extend, the Sponsor, management team and other initial shareholders will lose their entire investment in the Founder Shares and the Company’s Private Placement Warrants, except to the extent they entitle the holders thereof to receive liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account.
In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, 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, 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, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $
F-8
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Liquidity and Capital Resources
At December 31, 2025, the Company had $
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with the initial 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. If the Company completes the initial Business Combination, the Company will repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts, including the repayment of loans from the Sponsor to pay for any amount deposited to pay for any extension of the time to complete the initial Business Combination, but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $
In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern in accordance with FASB ASC 205-40, Presentation of Financial Statements - Going Concern, the Company does not believe it will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required to operate 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. Management has determined that upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants, the Company has sufficient funds to finance the working capital needs of the Company within one year from the date of issuance of the financial statements.
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 SEC.
Risks and Uncertainties
The Company’s ability to complete an initial Business Combination may be adversely affected by various factors, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. The Company’s ability to consummate an initial Business Combination could be impacted by, among other things, changes in laws or regulations, downturns in the financial markets or in economic conditions, inflation, fluctuations in interest rates, increases in tariffs, supply chain disruptions, declines in consumer confidence and spending, public health considerations, and geopolitical instability, such as the military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. The Company cannot at this time predict the likelihood of one or more of the above events, their duration or magnitude or the extent to which they may negatively impact the Company’s ability to complete an initial Business Combination.
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”). As such, the Company is eligible take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
F-9
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
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 the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of 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 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 $
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 $
Offering Costs
The Company complies with the requirements of ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 5A, Expenses of Offering. Deferred offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees that are 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, prorate, allocating the Initial Public Offering proceeds to the assigned value of the warrants and to the Class A ordinary shares. Offering costs allocated to the Class A ordinary shares are charged to temporary equity and offering costs allocated to the Public and Private Placement Warrants are charged to shareholders’ deficit as Public and Private Placement Warrants after management’s evaluation are accounted for under equity treatment. Transaction costs amounted to $
F-10
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, Income Taxes (“FASB ASC 740”). FASB ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carryforwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
FASB ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statements recognition and measurement of a tax position 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. FASB ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in interim period, disclosure and transition.
Based on the Company’s evaluation, it has been concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in the Company’s financial statements. Since the Company was incorporated on June 26, 2025, the evaluation was performed for the upcoming 2025 tax year which will be the only period subject to examination.
The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were unrecognized tax benefits and amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2025. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. There are no taxes in the Cayman Islands, and accordingly, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Warrants
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in FASB ASC Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“FASB ASC 480”), and FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“FASB ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to FASB ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to FASB ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under FASB ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as liabilities at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statement of operations.
Accordingly, the Company evaluated and classified the warrant instruments under equity treatment at their assigned values. As of December 31, 2025, there were
F-11
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with FASB ASC 815. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then re-valued at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statement of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current based on whether or not net cash settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. The underwriters’ over-allotment option is deemed to be a freestanding financial instrument indexed on the contingently redeemable shares and are accounted for as a liability pursuant to FASB ASC 480 if not fully exercised at the time of the Initial Public Offering. On October 28, 2025, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option in the amount of
Share-Based Payment Arrangements
The Company accounts for share awards in accordance with FASB ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (“FASB ASC 718”), which requires that all equity awards be accounted for at their “fair value.” Fair value is measured on the grant date and is equal to the underlying value of the share.
Costs equal to these fair values are recognized ratably over the requisite service period based on the number of awards that are expected to vest, in the period of grant for awards that vest immediately and have no future service condition, or in the period the awards vest immediately after meeting a performance condition becomes probable (i.e., the occurrence of a Business Combination). For awards that vest over time, cumulative adjustments in later periods are recorded to the extent actual forfeitures differ from the Company’s initial estimates; previously recognized compensation cost is reversed if the service or performance conditions are not satisfied and the award is forfeited.
Class A Ordinary 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 possible redemption outside of permanent equity 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 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, as of December 31, 2025, 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.
| Gross proceeds | $ | |||
| Less: | ||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | ( | ) | ||
| Public Shares issuance costs | ( | ) | ||
| Plus: | ||||
| Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, December 31, 2025 | $ |
F-12
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Net Income per ordinary share
Net income per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of
| For the Period from | ||||||||
| June 26, 2025 | ||||||||
| (Inception) through | ||||||||
| December 31, 2025 | ||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||
| Basic net income per ordinary share | ||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||
| Allocation of net income, as adjusted | $ | $ | ||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||
| Basic weighted average ordinary shares outstanding | ||||||||
| Basic net income per ordinary share | $ | $ | ||||||
| For the Period from | ||||||||
| June 26, 2025 | ||||||||
| (Inception) through | ||||||||
| December 31, 2025 | ||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||
| Diluted net income per ordinary share | ||||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||
| Allocation of net income, as adjusted | $ | $ | ||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||
| Diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding | ||||||||
| Diluted net income per ordinary share | $ | $ | ||||||
F-13
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Recent Accounting Standards
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 October 29, 2025, the Company sold
NOTE 4. PRIVATE PLACEMENTS
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor and Cohen purchased an aggregate of
NOTE 5. SEGMENT INFORMATION
FASB ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting, establishes standards for companies to report, in their financial statements, information about operating segments, products, services, geographic areas, and major customers. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise that engage in business activities from which it may recognize revenues and incur expenses, and for which separate financial information is available that is regularly evaluated by the Company’s chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), or group, in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance.
The Company’s CODM has been identified as the , who reviews the assets, operating results, and financial metrics for the Company as a whole to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing financial performance. Accordingly, management has determined that there is only
F-14
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
The measure of segment assets is reported on the balance sheet as total assets. When evaluating the Company’s performance and making key decisions regarding resource allocation, CODM reviews several key metrics, which include the following:
| December 31, 2025 | ||||
| Cash | $ | |||
| Cash and securities held in Trust Account | $ | |||
| For the period from June 26, 2025 (Inception) through December 31, 2025 | ||||
| Formation, general, and administrative costs | $ | |||
Formation, 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 or similar transaction within the Combination Period. The CODM also reviews formation, general, and administrative costs to manage, maintain and enforce all contractual agreements to ensure costs are aligned with all agreements and budget. Formation, general, and administrative costs, as reported on the statement of operations, are the significant segment expenses provided to the CODM on a regular basis.
The CODM reviews the position of total assets available with the Company to assess if the Company has sufficient resources available to discharge its liabilities. The CODM is provided with details of cash and liquid resources available with the Company. Additionally, the CODM regularly reviews the status of deferred costs incurred to assess if these are in line with the planned use of proceeds raised from the Initial Public Offering.
F-15
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
NOTE 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On June 30, 2025, the Sponsor was issued
On July 28, 2025, the Sponsor transferred
On October 27, 2025, the Company effected a share capitalization of
On October 28, 2025, the underwriters partially exercised their over-allotment option and forfeited the unexercised balance. As a result of the partial exercise and the forfeiture of the over-allotment option by the underwriters,
The Founder Shares are designated as Class B ordinary shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold in the Initial Public Offering, and holders of Founder Shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) the Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights, (iii) the Company’s Sponsor, officers, directors, and advisors entered into a letter agreement with the Company, pursuant to which they agreed to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, (B) 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 (1) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with the Company’s initial Business Combination or to redeem
F-16
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares immediately prior to, concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of the initial Business Combination or at any time prior thereto at the option of the holder on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as provided herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares, or any other equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts sold in the Initial Public Offering and related to or in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate,
With certain limited exceptions, the Founder Shares are not transferable, assignable or saleable (except to the Company’s officers, directors, and advisors and other persons or entities affiliated with the Company’s Sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A)
Promissory Note — Related Party
On June 30, 2025, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $
Working Capital Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with the initial 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. If the Company completes the initial Business Combination, the Company will repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts, including the repayment of loans from the Sponsor to pay for any amount deposited to pay for any extension of the time to complete the initial Business Combination, but no proceeds from the Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $
F-17
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Administrative Services and Indemnification Agreement
The Company entered into an agreement with the Sponsor, commencing on October 27, 2025, the date that the Company’s securities were first listed with Nasdaq, through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to make available to the Company certain general and administrative services, including office space and administrative services, as the Company may require from time to time. The Company agreed to pay the Sponsor up to $
CFO Services Agreement
In November 2025, the Company entered into an agreement with its Chief Financial Officer. The Company agreed to pay its Chief Financial Officer $10,000 per month for his services. For the period June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, the Company incurred and paid $20,000 to its Chief Financial Officer for these services.
Transfer Agency and Trustee Services Agreement
On August 21, 2025, the Company entered into a transfer agency and trustee services agreement with Efficiency. The Company acknowledges that Efficiency may receive a referral fee from the Company’s digital asset manager from fees earned for managing the Company’s Trust Account. Efficiency will share all or a portion of this referral fee with the Sponsor on a periodic basis agreed upon by the Company and Efficiency. During the period June 26, 2025 (inception) through December 31, 2025, the referral fee was $
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement
The holders of the (i) Founder Shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of the Initial Public Offering, (ii) Private Placement Warrants issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such Private Placement Warrants and (iii) Private Placement Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans will 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 Company’s initial Business Combination pursuant to a registration rights agreement signed on October 27, 2025, the effective date of the Initial Public Offering. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement and the partial exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option and $
F-18
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Underwriting Agreement
Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, the Sponsor and the executive officers, directors and advisors have agreed that, for a period of
The Company granted the underwriters a
The underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $
NOTE 8. SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
Preference shares — The Company is authorized to issue
Class A ordinary shares — The Company is authorized to issue
F-19
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
Class B ordinary shares — The Company is authorized to issue
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to
The Founder Shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares immediately prior to, concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of a Business Combination, and may be converted at any time prior to the Business Combination, at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis (unless otherwise provided in the business combination agreement), subject to adjustment for share subdivisions, share dividends, 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 Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, approximately
Warrants — As of December 31, 2025, there were
The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of the initial Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
F-20
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than
Once the warrant become exercisable, the Company may call the warrants for redemption for cash:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $ |
| ● | upon a minimum of |
| ● | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $ |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company for cash, the Company may exercise the redemption right even if the Company is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of the initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $
As of December 31, 2025, there were 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants issued or outstanding. The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until
F-21
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2025
NOTE 9. 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 at December 31, 2025, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Description | Level | December 31, 2025 | ||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||
| Cash and securities held in Trust Account | 1 | $ | ||||||
The fair value of the Public Warrants issued in the Initial Public Offering is $
| October 29, 2025 | ||||
| Implied Class A ordinary share price | $ | |||
| Exercise price | $ | |||
| Expected term to De-SPAC | ||||
| Warrant term | ||||
| Volatility | % | |||
| Probability of De-SPAC and market adjustment | % | |||
| Risk-free rate (continuous) | % | |||
NOTE 10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to March 26, 2026, 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-22
Exhibit 4.5
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
The following description of Apex Treasury Corporation’s (the “Company,” “we” or “us”) securities is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part. We encourage you to read the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and the applicable provisions of the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “Companies Act”) for additional information. Terms not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we are authorized to issue up to 550,000,000 ordinary shares, including 500,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Ordinary Shares”) and 50,000,000 Class B Ordinary Shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class B Ordinary Shares”), as well as 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share.
As of March 26, 2026, Apex Treasury Corporation has three classes of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”): (1) our Units; (2) our Class A Ordinary Shares; and (3) our Public Warrants.
Units
Units
Each Unit consists of one Class A Ordinary Share and one-half of one redeemable Public Warrant. Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustments. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, dated October 27, 2025 by and between the Company and Lucky Lucko, Inc., d/b/a Efficiency as warrant agent (“Efficiency”) (such agreement, the “Warrant Agreement”), a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the Company’s Class A Ordinary Shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. For example, if a warrant holder holds one-half of one warrant to purchase a Class A Ordinary Share, such warrant will not be exercisable. If a warrant holder holds two-halves of one warrant, such whole warrant will be exercisable for one Class A Ordinary Share at a price of $11.50 per share. The Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants comprising the Units began separate trading on November 17, 2025. Holders have the option to continue to hold Units or separate their Units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the Units into Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchased at least two Units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole Public Warrant. Additionally, the Units that have not already been separated will automatically separate into their component securities in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination and will no longer be listed thereafter.
Ordinary Shares
As of March 26, 2026, there were an aggregate of 45,960,000 ordinary shares outstanding, consisting of 34,470,000 Class A Ordinary Shares and 11,490,000 Class B Ordinary Shares.
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Holders of Class A Ordinary Shares and holders of Class B Ordinary Shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Act or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are represented in person or by proxy and are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association passed by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or represented by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Prior to the closing of our initial Business Combination, only holders of Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to vote on 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). Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, if we were to enter into a Business Combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a Business Combination ) be required to increase the number of Class A Ordinary Shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the Business Combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial Business Combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the Nasdaq, or by December 31, 2026. There is no requirement under the Companies Act for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings or appoint directors. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors.
We will provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or against, our initial Business Combination, all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of our initial Business Combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable (excluding any Excise Tax, or similar tax, imposed on us)), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the Trust Account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per Public Share. The per share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the Underwriters (as defined below). Our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers, directors and advisors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Founder Shares and Public Shares they hold in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination. Unlike many special purpose acquisition companies that hold shareholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial Business Combinations and provide for related redemptions of Public Shares for cash upon completion of such initial Business Combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a shareholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial Business Combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a shareholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, like many special purpose acquisition companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial Business Combination only if we receive an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, passed by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares represented in person or represented by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company. However, if our initial Business Combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial Business Combination will require a special resolution passed by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares which are represented in person or by proxy and are voted at a general meeting of the Company. However, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates in privately-negotiated transactions, if any, could result in the approval of our initial Business Combination even if a majority of our Public Shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such initial Business Combination. For purposes of seeking approval of an ordinary resolution, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial Business Combination once a quorum is obtained. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require that at least five days’ notice will be given of any general meeting.
2
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial Business Combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial Business Combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a Public Shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to Excess Shares, without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial Business Combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial Business Combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial Business Combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares, would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial Business Combination, our initial shareholders, sponsor, officers, directors and advisors have agreed to vote any Founder Shares they hold and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of our initial Business Combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ Founder Shares, we would need 11,478,510 or 33.3% of the 34,470,000 Public Shares sold in the IPO to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to have our initial Business Combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted). Assuming that only the holders of one-third of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares, representing a quorum under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, vote their shares at a general meeting of the Company, we will not need any Public Shares in addition to our Founder Shares to be voted in favor of an initial Business Combination in order to approve an initial Business Combination. However, if our initial Business Combination is structured as a statutory merger or consolidation with another company under Cayman Islands law, the approval of our initial Business Combination will require a special resolution, passed by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of the issued shares represented in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote on such matter at a general meeting of the Company and are voted at a general meeting of the Company. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a Public Shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, we will, as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will constitute full and complete payment and completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial shareholders have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they 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 Completion Window, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account. However, if our initial shareholders or management team acquired Public Shares in or after the IPO, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window.
3
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company after a Business Combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares for cash at a per-share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable (excluding any Excise Tax, or similar tax, imposed on us)), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, upon the completion of our initial Business Combination , subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The Founder Shares are designated as Class B Ordinary Shares and, except as described below, are identical to the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units sold in the IPO, and holders of Founder Shares have the same shareholder rights as Public Shareholders, except that (i) the Founder Shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; (ii) the Founder Shares are entitled to registration rights; (iii) our sponsor, officers, directors and advisors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (A) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of our initial Business Combination, (B) 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 (1) 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 (2) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, (C) 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 and to liquidating distributions from assets outside the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial Business Combination within such time period and (D) 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; (iv) the Founder Shares are automatically convertible into Class A Ordinary Shares concurrently with or immediately following the consummation of our initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and (v) prior to the closing of our initial Business Combination, only holders of Class B Ordinary Shares will be entitled to vote on 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 will automatically convert into Class A Ordinary Shares at the time of the consummation of our initial Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holders thereof, on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for share splits, share dividends, 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 our initial Business Combination , the number of Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 25% 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 and not including the Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants), 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 or rights 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 our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans, provided that such conversion of Founder Shares will never occur on a less than one- for-one basis.
4
With certain limited exceptions, the Founder Shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier to occur of (i) 180 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial Business Combination, the last sale price of the Class A Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after 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 Class A Ordinary Shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances as described in the registration statement for our IPO under “Principal Shareholders – Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants.” Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any Founder Shares.
Register of Members
Under Cayman Islands law, we must keep a register of members and there will be entered therein:
| ● | the names and addresses of the members, a statement of the shares held by each member, and of the amount paid or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member and the voting rights of the shares of each member; |
| ● | whether voting rights are attached to the share in issue; |
| ● | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| ● | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our Company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members.
The shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preference Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 5,000,000 preference shares and provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors is authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors can, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares outstanding as of March 26, 2026. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future.
5
Warrants
Public 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 as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination, provided that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the Warrant Agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A Ordinary Shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional Public Warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole Public Warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchased at least two Units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole Public Warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We 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, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Class A Ordinary Share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A Ordinary Share 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 we 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 Share underlying such Unit.
We registered the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants in the registration statement filed in connection with our IPO because the warrants will become exercisable 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination. However, because the warrants will be exercisable until their expiration date of up to five years after the completion of our initial Business Combination, in order to comply with the requirements of Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act, following the consummation of our initial Business Combination and under the terms of the Warrant Agreement, we have agreed, that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial Business Combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a post-effective amendment to the registration statement in connection with the IPO 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 our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial Business Combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A 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 60th business day after the closing of our initial Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we 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 our 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, we may, at our 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 we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement.
6
Redemption of Warrants for Cash
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the Public Warrants for redemption for cash:
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
| ● | at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant; |
| ● | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and |
| ● | if, and only if, the last reported sales price (the “Closing Price”) of the Class A Ordinary Shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and for certain issuances of Class A Ordinary Shares and equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial Business Combination) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period commencing at least 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination and ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the Public Warrants become redeemable by us for cash, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the Public Warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which Public Warrants were offered by us in the IPO.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the Public Warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its Public Warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A Ordinary Shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption Procedures
If we call the Public Warrants for redemption as described above under “– Redemption of Warrants for Cash”, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his, her or its Public Warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their Public Warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of Public Warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of our Public Warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of Public Warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their Public 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 Public Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A Ordinary Shares (defined below) over the exercise price of the Public Warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” will mean the average 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 redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Class A Ordinary Shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial Business Combination .
A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (as specified by the holder) of the Class A Ordinary Shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
7
Anti-dilution Adjustments
If the number of outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares is increased by a share capitalization payable in Class A Ordinary Shares, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such share capitalization, split-up 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.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to all or substantially all the holders of Class A Ordinary Shares on account of such Class A Ordinary Shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A Ordinary Shares in connection with a proposed initial Business Combination , or (d) in connection with the redemption of our Public Shares upon our failure to complete our initial Business Combination , then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A Ordinary Share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share split or reclassification of Class A Ordinary Shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share split, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A Ordinary Shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares.
Whenever the number of Class A Ordinary Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A Ordinary Shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A Ordinary Shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A Ordinary Shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial Business Combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per Class A Ordinary Shares, (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds (including from such issuances and the IPO), and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial Business Combination on the date of the consummation of our initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the Market Value of the Class A Ordinary Shares is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described under “– Redemption of Warrants for Cash” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A Ordinary Shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding Class A Ordinary Shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the Class A Ordinary Shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of Class A Ordinary Shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A Ordinary Shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A Ordinary Shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over- the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the Warrant Agreement based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined in the Warrant Agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants.
8
Registered Form
The warrants were issued in registered form under the Warrant Agreement. The Warrant Agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any defective provision or mistake, (ii) adjusting the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the Warrant Agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the Warrant Agreement as the parties to the Warrant Agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, amongst others, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of Public Warrants, and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Private Placement Warrants, 50% of the then outstanding Private Placement Warrants (including the vote or written consent of the underwriters of our IPO (the “Underwriters”). You should review a copy of the Warrant Agreement, which is incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
Exercise Mechanics
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A Ordinary Shares. After the issuance of Class A Ordinary Shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A Ordinary Shares to be issued to the warrant holder.
Governing Law
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the Warrant Agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York located in the County of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors – Risks Relating to our Securities – Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company” in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part. This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
9
Private Placement Warrants
The Private Placement Warrants (including the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial Business Combination (except to our or the Underwriters’ officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with the initial purchasers of the Private Placement Warrants). The Private Placement Warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of Public Warrants. All modifications or amendments of the Private Placement Warrants or the Warrant Agreement related to the Private Placement Warrants, including any modification or amendment to increase the warrant price or shorten the exercise period (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the forfeiture or cancellation of any Private Placement Warrants), will require 50% of the number of then outstanding Private Placement Warrants (including the vote or written consent of the Underwriters).
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our Business Combination. A Cayman Islands company may pay a dividend on its shares out of either profit or the share premium account, provided that in no circumstances may a dividend be paid if following such payment a company would be unable to pay its debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. The payment of cash dividends following the completion of our initial Business Combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time and will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition at such time. There is no certainty we will be in a position to, or decide to, pay cash dividends after completing any Business Combination. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial Business Combination, our ability to declare dividends following the completion of our initial Business Combination may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Efficiency. We have agreed to indemnify Efficiency in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence or intentional misconduct of the indemnified person or entity. Efficiency has agreed that it has no right of set-off or any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account, and has irrevocably waived any right, title, interest or claim of any kind to, or to any monies in, the Trust Account that it may have now or in the future. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied, or a claim will only be able to be pursued, solely against us and our assets outside the Trust Account and not against any monies in the Trust Account or interest earned thereon.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Act. The Companies Act is modeled on English law but does not follow recent English law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Act applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Act allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or consolidation must then be authorized by either (i) a special resolution of the shareholders of each company; and (ii) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that holds issued shares that together represent 90% of the votes at a general meeting of the subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company, provided the parent company is the surviving entity and a copy of the plan of merger is given to every member of each subsidiary company to be merged unless that member agrees otherwise. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Act (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
10
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands company are also required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that certain requirements have been met, including the following requirements: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any applicable jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted; and (v) there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the following requirements have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidation is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (A) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (B) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (C) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; and (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction. The Companies Act provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid the fair value of their shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation in certain circumstances if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, where such rights apply, that procedure is as follows: (i) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for their shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (ii) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is authorized by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (iii) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of their shares; (iv) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (ii) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase their shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (v) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree on a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company must (and any dissenting shareholder may) file a petition with the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands to determine the fair value of all dissenting shares and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. A shareholder who dissents must do so in respect of all shares that that person holds in the constituent company. Upon the giving of a notice of dissent under paragraph (iii) above, the shareholder to whom the notice relates shall cease to have any of the rights of a shareholder except the right to be paid the fair value of that person’s shares and certain rights specified in the Companies Act. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenting shareholders holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date, where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company.
11
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement,” which may be tantamount to a merger. Schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved (i) in relation to a compromise or arrangement between a company and its creditors or any class of them, a majority in number of such creditors or class of creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent 75% in value of such creditors or class of creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting summoned for that purpose; and (ii) in relation to a compromise or arrangement between a company and its shareholders or any class of them, shareholders who represent 75% in value of the company’s shareholders or class of shareholders, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| ● | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| ● | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
| ● | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably approve; and |
| ● | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Act or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to dissenters’ rights or appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% in value of the shares to whom the offer relates within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period after the expiration of the initial four-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability of such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
| ● | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
12
| ● | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
| ● | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by Appleby (Cayman) Ltd., our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability under the Companies Act. The Companies Act distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| ● | an exempted company does not have to file an annual return of its shareholders with the Registrar of Companies; |
| ● | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection and can be kept outside of the Cayman Islands; |
| ● | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| ● | an exempted company may issue shares with no nominal or par value; |
| ● | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); and |
| ● | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
“Limited liability” means that the liability of each shareholder is limited to the amount unpaid by the shareholder on the shares of the company (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil).
13
Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions designed to provide certain requirements and restrictions relating to the IPO that will apply to us until the completion of our initial Business Combination. These provisions cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a special resolution is a resolution that (i) has been passed by a majority of at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of such of a company’s shareholders as, being entitled to do so, vote in person or, where proxies are allowed, by proxy at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, has been approved by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders who are entitled to vote on such matter (or such lower threshold as may be allowed under the Companies Act from time to time).
Our initial shareholders, who, as of March 26, 2026, collectively beneficially own 25% of our ordinary shares, may participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that:
| · | If we have not completed our initial Business Combination within the Completion Window, we will as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter (and subject to lawfully available funds therefor), redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes paid or payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay liquidation expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
| ● | Prior to our initial Business Combination, we may not, except in connection with the conversion of Class B Ordinary shares into Class A Ordinary Shares where the holders of such shares have waived any rights to receive funds from the Trust Account, issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the Trust Account or (ii) vote as a class with Public Shares on any initial Business Combination; |
| ● | If a shareholder vote on our initial Business Combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our Public Shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial Business Combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; |
| ● | Nasdaq rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes paid or payable on the interest earned on the trust account); |
| ● | If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association not for the purposes of approving, or in conjunction with the consummation of, an initial Business Combination (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with an initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of our Public Shares if we do not complete an initial business combination within the Completion Window or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A Ordinary Shares or pre-Initial Business Combination activity, we will provide our Public Shareholders with the opportunity to redeem, regardless of whether they abstain, vote for, or vote against, our initial Business Combination, all or a portion of their Public Shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (net of taxes paid or payable), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares; |
14
| ● | We will not effectuate our initial Business Combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations; and |
| ● | Only holders of our Class B Ordinary Shares have the right to vote on appointing or removing directors or continuing our company in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands (as further described above), prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination. |
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the courts of the Cayman Islands shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim or dispute arising out of or in connection with our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or otherwise related in any way to each shareholder’s shareholding in us, including but not limited to (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of any fiduciary or other duty owed by any of our current or former director, officer or other employee to us or our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Companies Act or our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine (as such concept is recognized under the laws of the United States of America) and that each shareholder irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Cayman Islands over all such claims or disputes. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also provide that, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that we may have, each of our shareholders acknowledges that damages alone would not be an adequate remedy for any breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum and that accordingly we shall be entitled, without proof of special damages, to the remedies of injunction, specific performance or other equitable relief for any threatened or actual breach of the selection of the courts of the Cayman Islands as exclusive forum. The forum selection provision in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association does not apply to actions or suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act, Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are, as a matter of the laws of the United States of America, the sole and exclusive forum for determination of such a claim.
Anti-Money Laundering – Cayman Islands
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or money-laundering or is involved with terrorism or terrorist financing and property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector, or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering, or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report shall not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, the Company may be required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, the Company may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
The Company reserves the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
15
The Company also reserves the right to refuse to make any redemption payment to a shareholder if directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment of redemption proceeds to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
Economic Substance — Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands, together with several other non-European Union jurisdictions, has introduced legislation aimed at addressing concerns raised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative as to offshore structures engaged in certain activities which attract profits without real economic activity. The International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Act, (As Revised) (the “Economic Substance Act”) contains economic substance requirements for in-scope Cayman Islands entities which are engaged in certain “relevant activities”. As we are a Cayman Islands company, our compliance obligations include filing an annual notification, which needs to state whether we are carrying out any relevant activities and if so, whether we have satisfied economic substance tests to the extent required under the Economic Substance Act. If the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority determines that the Company or any of its Cayman Islands subsidiaries has failed to meet the requirements imposed by the Economic Substance Act, the Company may face significant financial penalties, restriction on the regulation of its business activities and/or may be struck off as a registered entity in the Cayman Islands.
As it is still a relatively new regime, we anticipate that the Economic Substance Act and associated guidance will evolve and may be subject to further clarification and amendments. We may need to allocate additional resources to keep updated with these developments, and may have to make changes to our operations in order to comply with all requirements under the Economic Substance Act. Failure to satisfy these requirements may subject us to penalties under the Economic Substance Act.
Data Protection – Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands (the “DPA”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice (“Privacy Notice”) puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPA (“personal data”). In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
We are committed to processing personal data in accordance with the DPA. In our use of personal data, we will be characterized under the DPA as a “data controller,” whilst certain of our service providers, affiliates, and delegates may act as “data processors” under the DPA. These service providers may process personal data for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us. For the purposes of this Privacy Notice, “you” or “your” shall mean the subscriber and shall also include any individual connected to the subscriber.
By virtue of your investment in the company, we and certain of our service providers may collect, record, store, transfer, and otherwise process personal data by which individuals may be directly or indirectly identified. We may combine personal data that you provide to use with personal data that we collect from, or about you. This may include personal data collected in an online or offline context including from credit reference agencies and other available public databases or data sources, such as news outlines, websites and other media sources and international sanctions lists.
Your personal data will be processed fairly and for lawful purposes, including (a) where the processing is necessary for us to perform a contract to which you are a party or for taking pre-contractual steps at your request, (b) where the processing is necessary for compliance with any legal, tax, or regulatory obligation to which we are subject, (c) where the processing is for the purposes of legitimate interests pursued by us or by a service provider to whom the data are disclosed, or (d) where you otherwise consent to the processing of personal data for any other specific purpose. As a data controller, we will only use your personal data for the purposes for which we collected it. If we need to use your personal data for an unrelated purpose, we will contact you.
16
We anticipate that we will share your personal data with our service providers for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice. We may also share relevant personal data where it is lawful to do so and necessary to comply with our contractual obligations or your instructions or where it is necessary or desirable to do so in connection with any regulatory reporting obligations. In exceptional circumstances, we will share your personal data with regulatory, prosecuting, and other governmental agencies or departments, and parties to litigation (whether pending or threatened), in any country or territory including to any other person where we have a public or legal duty to do so (e.g. to assist with detecting and preventing fraud, tax evasion, and financial crime or compliance with a court order).
Your personal data shall not be held by the company for longer than necessary with regard to the purposes of the data processing.
We will not sell your personal data. Any transfer of personal data outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA. Where necessary, we will ensure that separate and appropriate legal agreements are put in place with the recipient of that data.
We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction, or damage to the personal data.
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPA, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPA, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the DPA or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us. We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, taxpayer identification number, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.
Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation to your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
17
How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data
The company, as the data controller, may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
| (i) | where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements; |
| (ii) |
where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering, counter terrorist financing, prevention of proliferation financing, financial sanctions and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or |
| (iii) | where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms. |
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances, we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
18
The Data Protection Measures We Take
Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPA.
We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.
Rights of Individual Data Subjects
Individual data subjects have certain data protection rights, including the right to:
| ● | be informed about the purposes for which your personal data are processed; |
| ● | access your personal data; |
| ● | stop direct marketing; |
| ● | restrict the processing of your personal data; |
| ● | have incomplete or inaccurate personal data corrected; |
| ● | ask us to stop processing your personal data; |
| ● | be informed of a personal data breach (unless the breach is unlikely to be prejudicial to you); |
| ● | complain to the Data Protection Ombudsman; and |
| ● | require us to delete your personal data in some limited circumstances. |
If you consider that your personal data has not been handled correctly, or you are not satisfied with our responses to any requests you have made regarding the use of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Cayman Islands’ Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can be contacted by email at info@ombudsman.ky or by accessing its website here: ombudsman.ky.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our board of directors is classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings. Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preference shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Extraordinary General Meetings
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that extraordinary general meetings may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Co-Chairmen.
19
Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that shareholders seeking to bring business before our annual general meeting, or to nominate candidates for appointment as directors at our annual general meeting, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a shareholder’s notice will need to be received by our secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 150th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual general meeting. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a shareholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our shareholders from bringing matters before our annual general meeting or from making nominations for directors at our annual general meeting. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association allow the chairman of the meeting at a general meeting of the shareholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a general meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to appoint the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of us.
Unanimous Written Resolutions
Subsequent to the consummation of the IPO, any action required or permitted to be taken by our shareholders may be effected by a duly called annual general meeting or extraordinary general meeting or by a unanimous written resolution of all of the Company’s shareholders who are entitled to vote on such matter (or such lower threshold as may be allowed under the Companies Act from time to time).
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
As of December 31, 2025, there were 34,470,000 Class A Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding. As of December 31, 2025, there were 11,490,000 Class B Ordinary Shares issued and outstanding. All of the outstanding Founder Shares and all of the outstanding Private Placement Warrants (8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants) are restricted securities under Rule 144 under the Securities Act (“Rule 144”), in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and the Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants, are subject to transfer restrictions.
Rule 144
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than Business Combination-related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company, such as the Company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
| ● | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| ● | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| ● | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and material required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and |
| ● | at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
When and if Rule 144 becomes available for the resale of the Company’s securities, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
20
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
| ● | 1% of the total number of ordinary shares then outstanding; or |
| ● | the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A Ordinary Shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Registration Rights
The holders of the (i) Founder Shares, (ii) Private Placement Warrants and the Class A Ordinary Shares underlying such Private Placement Warrants and (iii) Private Placement Warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans have, or will have, registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them prior to the consummation of our initial Business Combination pursuant to a registration rights agreement. Pursuant to the registration rights agreement, and assuming up to $1,500,000 of working capital loans are converted into Private Placement Warrants, we are obligated to register up to 21,884,000 Class A Ordinary Shares and 10,394,000 warrants. The number of Class A Ordinary Shares includes (i) 11,490,000 Class A Ordinary Shares to be issued upon conversion of the Founder Shares, (ii) 8,894,000 Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants and (iii) up to 1,500,000 Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The number of warrants includes 8,894,000 Private Placement Warrants and up to 1,500,000 Private Placement Warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial Business Combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of Securities
Our Units, Class A Ordinary Shares, and Public Warrants are listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols “APXTU,” “APXT” and “APXTW,” respectively.
21
Exhibit 10.10
LETTER AGREEMENT
March 5, 2026
Apex Treasury Corporation
2035 Regatta Drive
Vero Beach, Florida 32963
Attention: Audit Committee of the Board of Directors
Ladies and Gentlemen:
The purpose of this letter agreement (this “Letter Agreement”) is to memorialize the agreement between Apex Treasury Sponsor LLC (the “Sponsor”) and Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) regarding amounts paid or payable pursuant to Section 6 of the Transfer Agency and Trustee Services Agreement, dated as of August 21, 2025 (“Section 6”), between the Company and Lucky Lucko, Inc. (“Efficiency”). This agreement was reached following discussion between the Sponsor and the Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”).
1. Section 6 provides as follows:
The Company acknowledges that Efficiency may receive a referral fee from the Company’s designated asset manager from fees earned for managing the Company’s trust account. Efficiency will share all or a portion of this referral fee with the Company’s sponsor with such payments to be made on a periodic basis to be agreed upon by the Company and Efficiency.”
2. In accordance with Section 6, Efficiency agreed to pay certain amounts it receives from the Company’s asset manager (equivalent to 9 basis points of the amount held in the Company’s Trust Account) to the Sponsor. As of the date of this Letter Agreement, the Sponsor had received an aggregate of $81,035.81 from Efficiency pursuant to Section 6 (the “Paid Efficiency Funds”).
3. The Sponsor hereby agrees that all amounts paid or payable by Efficiency to the Sponsor pursuant to Section 6 (a) shall instead be paid directly into the Company’s Operating Account, which is the account into which were deposited the $1.3 million of the Company’s IPO proceeds held outside the Company’s Trust Account; and (b) shall be used only for the same purposes, and disbursed only subject to the same internal controls and procedures, as such IPO proceeds. In furtherance of the Sponsor’s agreement set forth in the preceding sentence, the Sponsor has (i) transferred the Paid Efficiency Funds into the Company’s Operating Account and (ii) provided instructions to Efficiency, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1, to pay all amounts payable from and after the date hereof pursuant to Section 6 directly into the Company’s Operating Account.
4. The Sponsor represents, warrants and covenants to the Company that (a) except for Section 6, the Sponsor has no, and will not enter into any, agreements, arrangement or understandings with Efficiency relating to the Company; (b) the Sponsor will not enter into or provide any amendment, waiver, consent or approval under or relating to Section 6 without prior written approval by the Audit Committee; and (c) this Letter Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by, and represents a binding and enforceable agreement of, the Sponsor and does not contravene the organizational documents of the Sponsor or any laws, regulations, orders or agreements applicable to the Sponsor or to which the Sponsor is a party.
5. The Sponsor and the Company agree that the disclosure attached hereto as Exhibit 2 shall be made in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 (the “2025 10-K”) and subsequent periodic reports and this Letter Agreement shall be filed as an exhibit to the 2025 10-K.
6. General Provisions
(a) This Letter Agreement supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter of this Letter Agreement.
(b) This Letter Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Letter Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of, the State of Delaware.
(c) This Letter Agreement may be signed in counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. Counterparts may be delivered via facsimile, electronic mail (including any electronic signature covered by the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures and Records Act or other applicable law, e.g., www.docusign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.
(d) No amendment or waiver of any provision of this Letter Agreement, nor any consent or approval to any departure from the terms of this Letter Agreement, shall be effective unless such amendment, waiver, consent or approval shall be in writing and signed by the parties (with, in the case of the Company, the prior written approval of the Audit Committee).
[Signature Page Follows]
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding, please indicate your acceptance of this Letter Agreement by signing in the space provided below.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| APEX TREASURY SPONSOR LLC | ||
| By: | /s/ Ajmal Rahman | |
| Name: | Ajmal Rahman | |
| Title: | Managing Member | |
| Accepted: As of the date first written above | ||
| APEX TREASURY CORPORATION | ||
| By: | /s/ William Mann | |
| Name: | William Mann | |
| Title: | Chair, Audit Committee of the Board of Directors | |
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
Our Transfer Agency and Trustee Services Agreement with Efficiency, dated as of August 21, 2025, or the TATSA, states that Efficiency may receive a fee from the designated asset manager that manages the Trust Account. The TATSA further provides that Efficiency would share some or all of such fee with our Sponsor. In December 2025, our Sponsor informed the Audit Committee of our board of directors that, under a separate agreement it had with Efficiency, Efficiency would make a monthly payment to our Sponsor out of such fee in an amount equal to 9 basis points of the amount held in the Trust Account from time to time, or approximately $25,000 to $27,000 per month. On March 5, 2026, following discussions with the Audit Committee, our Sponsor entered into a letter agreement with us pursuant to which our Sponsor transferred the $81,035.81 it had already received from Efficiency into our operating account and instructed Efficiency to pay all future amounts directly into our operating account. The letter agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 10.10 to this Annual Report, provides that these funds will only be used for the same purposes, and only be expended subject to the same internal controls and procedures, as the $1,300,000 of IPO proceeds initially transferred into our operating account. The payments received from Efficiency do not reduce the principal or interest held in the Trust Account.
Exhibit 19
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
POLICY REGARDING INSIDER TRADING AND
DISSEMINATION OF INSIDE INFORMATION
Effective October 27, 2025
| I. | INTRODUCTION |
This Policy Regarding Insider Trading and Dissemination of Inside Information (this “Policy”) describes the policy of Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) regarding:
| ● | the trading of securities while you are in possession of Inside Information (as defined below) (“insider trading”) about the Company or any other company; and |
| ● | other misuse of material non-public information (“Inside Information”) of the Company or any other company. |
Your obligations and potential liability under securities laws dealing with insider trading abuses are also outlined below.
This Policy provides an overview of the most significant aspects involved in insider trading. Every director, officer and employee of the Company must read and retain this Policy.
| II. | Statement of the Policy |
No director, officer, employee or other Insider (as defined below) shall:
| ● | trade in securities of the Company or any other company while in possession of Inside Information concerning the Company or such other company; |
| ● | disseminate Inside Information of the Company or any other company to others (except for legitimate Company purposes in accordance with Company communications policies; provided that the disclosing person reasonably does not expect the recipient to trade in securities, or disseminate the information to others who may trade in securities, while in possession of such Inside Information); or |
| ● | engage in any other action or conduct to take advantage of Inside Information. |
The prohibited dissemination of Inside Information includes the disclosure through written, oral or electronic means to all persons or entities, including friends, family members, business contacts or others.
Even the appearance of improper conduct must be avoided to preserve the Company’s reputation for adhering to high ethical standards of conduct. Accordingly, conduct which merely suggests the possibility of insider trading may be deemed by the Company, in its sole discretion, to be a violation of this Policy.
| III. | Federal Law Prohibiting Insider Trading |
Rule 10b-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), has been determined by the courts to prohibit trading by an Insider (as defined below) of any securities (debt or equity) of a company on the basis of Inside Information about such company. Liability under Rule 10b-5 can apply to trading in the Company’s securities or the securities of any other company if one is in possession of Inside Information about the company whose securities are traded. The prohibition against insider trading applies to the Company’s officers, directors, employees and other Insiders at all times regardless of whether or not the Company is observing a scheduled or special “blackout” period.
Liability under Rule 10b-5 may attach not only to Insiders who trade while in possession of Inside Information, but also, under certain circumstances, to (i) Insiders who disclose or tip Inside Information (tippers) to third parties without trading themselves, and (ii) third parties (such as relatives, business associates or friends) who have received Inside Information from Insiders (tippees) and trade while in possession of that Inside Information.
| IV. | The Consequences of Insider Trading |
Individuals who trade on material non-public information (or tip information to others) can be subject to an array of civil and criminal penalties. Violations are taken very seriously by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the federal agency responsible for enforcing the law in this area. Potential sanctions include:
| ● | disgorgement of profits gained or losses avoided and interest thereon; |
| ● | a civil penalty of up to three times the profit gained or loss avoided; |
| ● | a bar from acting as an officer or director of a publicly traded company; |
| ● | a criminal fine (no matter how small the profit or the lack thereof) of up to $1 million; and |
| ● | a jail term of up to ten years. |
These penalties can apply even if the individual is not a director, officer or senior manager. In addition to the potentially severe civil and criminal penalties for violation of the insider trading laws, violation of this Policy may result in the imposition of Company sanctions, including dismissal. A conviction or finding of liability for insider trading can also result in individuals being banned generally from employment in the securities or financial industries or other employment, and even a mere allegation of insider trading can result in severe harm to one’s professional and personal reputation.
A transaction that may be necessary or seem justifiable for independent reasons (including a need to raise money for a personal financial emergency) is neither an exception to this Policy nor a safeguard against prosecution for violation of insider trading laws.
2
For a company (as well as possibly any supervisory person) that fails to take appropriate steps to prevent illegal trading, a civil penalty of the greater of $1 million or three times the profit gained or loss avoided as a result of an employee’s violation and a criminal fine of up to $2.5 million may be imposed. There are also likely to be shareholder lawsuits and adverse publicity arising from such illegal conduct.
| V. | Who Is an “Insider” for Purposes of the Insider Trading Prohibitions? |
An “Insider” for purposes of insider trading law is any person who possesses Inside Information; the status results from such possession and not simply a person’s position, if any, with the Company. Accordingly, Insiders subject to liability for insider trading are not solely those executive officers and directors who are required to report their securities transactions of Company ordinary shares under Section 16 of the Exchange Act and who are also often referred to as “insiders” for purposes of that law. The category of potential Insiders for purposes of insider trading law includes not only the Company’s directors, officers and employees, but also outside professional advisors and business consultants who have access to Inside Information prior to its public release and absorption by the securities markets.
| VI. | Persons Covered by the Policy |
This Policy covers the directors, officers and employees of the Company, and outside professional advisors and business consultants of the Company who have access to Inside Information of the Company, as well as their Family Members and Controlled Entities.
“Family Members” include a person’s spouse, partner, financially dependent children, relative, or other members of such person’s immediate household to whose support such person contributes or whose investments such person controls.
“Controlled Entities” include any legal entities controlled by a person, such as any corporations, partnerships, or trusts.
| VII. | Individual Responsibility |
Persons subject to this Policy have ethical and legal obligations to maintain the confidentiality of Inside Information and to not trade while in possession of Inside Information. Each individual is responsible for making sure that he or she complies with this Policy, and that any Family Member or Controlled Entity also complies with this policy. In all cases, the responsibility for determining whether an individual is in possession of Inside Information rests with that individual, and any action on the part of the Company, the Administrator (as defined under the caption “Administration of the Policy”) or any other employee or director pursuant to this Policy (or otherwise) does not in any way constitute legal advice or insulate an individual from liability under applicable securities laws. You could be subject to severe legal penalties and disciplinary action by the Company for any conduct prohibited by this Policy or applicable securities laws, as described above in more detail under the heading “The Consequences of Insider Trading.”
3
| VIII. | Transactions Covered by thIS Policy |
The trading covered by this Policy includes all types of transactions and securities, including ordinary shares, options or warrants to purchase ordinary shares, or any other type of securities, including (but not limited to) preferred shares, convertible debentures, as well as derivative securities that are issued by third parties, such as exchange-traded put or call options or swaps relating to securities of the Company or another company with respect to which an Insider possesses Inside Information.
| IX. | What is Material Non-Public Information? |
Material information is any information that a reasonable investor would consider important in arriving at a decision to buy, sell or hold the securities of a company and/or would view its disclosure as significantly altering the total mix of information otherwise made available.
Non-Public information is information that is not generally known to the public.
Examples. Examples of non-public information that generally would be regarded as material and thus Inside Information include:
| ● | financial information, such as revenues, expenses, earnings, new sales or investment returns; |
| ● | information about a transaction that will affect the financial condition or performance of the company in a significant manner, such as a pending or proposed merger, acquisition, tender offer, sale of assets, or disposition of a subsidiary, or entering into or terminating a significant contract; |
| ● | earnings estimates; |
| ● | a stock split or the offering of additional securities; |
| ● | major litigation; |
| ● | changes in senior management; |
| ● | major new products; and |
| ● | the gain or loss of a substantial customer. |
Either positive or negative information may be material. The foregoing list is not exhaustive; other types of information may be material at any particular time, depending upon all the circumstances.
4
| X. | Trading |
This Policy permits an Insider to trade securities beginning at the close of regular trading on the second full Trading Day after all Inside Information has been disclosed to the public through general release to the national news media, which will provide the securities markets a sufficient opportunity to absorb and evaluate the information.
“Trading Day” means a day on which the principal U.S. stock exchange on which the Company’s ordinary shares are then listed is open for trading.
For example, if Inside Information (including quarterly or annual earnings) is disclosed at (a) 8:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on a Monday, then trading may commence after 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Tuesday, (b) 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time, on Monday, then trading may commence after 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Wednesday or (c) 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Monday, then trading may commence after 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on Wednesday.
Please refer to the paragraph below captioned “Additional Procedures” for additional restrictions on trading.
| XI. | Transactions Not Subject to this Policy |
| A. | Bona Fide Gifts |
Bona fide gifts are not transactions subject to this Policy, unless the person making the gift has reason to believe that the recipient intends to sell the Company securities while the person making the gift is aware of Inside Information or during a blackout period to which the person making the gift is subject; provided that bona fide gifts of Company securities by directors, officers who have been designated by the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) as “officers” for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act (collectively with the directors, “Section 16 Reporting Persons”) and certain other employees who may be designated by the Administrator from time to time (“Designated Individuals”) are subject to the pre-clearance procedures set forth below under the caption “Additional Procedures.”
| B. | Option Exercises |
This Policy does not apply to the exercise of an employee option acquired pursuant to the Company’s plans, or to the exercise of a tax withholding right pursuant to which a person has elected to have the Company withhold shares subject to an option to satisfy tax withholding requirements; provided that such exercises by Section 16 Reporting Persons and Designated Individuals are subject to the pre-clearance procedures set forth below under the caption “Additional Procedures.” This Policy does apply, however, to any sale of shares as part of a broker-assisted cashless exercise of an option, or any other market sale for the purpose of generating the cash needed to pay the exercise price of an option.
5
| C. | Restricted Share Awards |
This Policy does not apply to the exercise of a tax withholding right pursuant to which you elect to have the Company withhold shares to satisfy tax withholding requirements upon the vesting of any restricted shares; provided that such exercise by Section 16 Reporting Persons and Designated Individuals is subject to the pre-clearance procedures set forth below under the caption “Additional Procedures.” This Policy does apply, however, to any market sale of restricted shares.
| D. | Mutual Funds |
Transactions in mutual funds that are invested in securities of the Company or another company with respect to which an Insider possesses Inside Information are not transactions subject to this Policy.
| E. | Other Similar Transactions |
Any other purchase of Company securities from the Company or sales of Company securities to the Company are not subject to this Policy.
| F. | Rule 10b5-1 Plans |
Securities trading pursuant to contracts, plans or instructions complying with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1) under the Exchange Act (“Rule 10b5-1 Plans”) and entered into in good faith while the person entering into the Rule 10b5-1 Plan is not in possession of Inside Information is not subject to this Policy, provided that the adoption and maintenance of any such Rule 10b5-1 Plan by such person must be approved by the Administrator and must comply with the requirements of Rule 10b5-1(c)(1).
| XII. | Special and Prohibited Transactions |
The Company has determined that there is a heightened legal risk and/or the appearance of improper or inappropriate conduct if the persons subject to this Policy engage in certain types of transactions. Therefore any persons covered by this Policy must comply with the following:
| A. | Hedging Transactions |
Hedging or monetization transactions can be accomplished through a number of possible mechanisms, including through the use of financial instruments such as prepaid variable forwards, equity swaps, collars and exchange funds. Such hedging transactions may permit a director, officer or employee to continue to own Company securities obtained through employee benefit plans or otherwise, but without the full risks and rewards of ownership. When that occurs, the director, officer or employee may no longer have the same objectives as the Company’s other shareholders. Therefore, directors, officers and employees, as well as their Family Members and Controlled Entities, are prohibited from engaging in any such transactions.
6
| B. | Margin Accounts and Pledged Securities |
In order to avoid a margin sale or foreclosure sale at a time when a pledgor, who is a Company director, officer or employee, or their Family Members or Controlled Entities, is aware of Inside Information or otherwise is not permitted to trade Company securities due to a blackout period, no Company director, officer or employee, or their Family Members or Controlled Entities, may hold Company securities in a margin account or otherwise pledge (or hypothecate) Company securities as collateral for a loan without first obtaining prior approval from the Administrator. Pre-clearance is required for such transactions because Company securities held in a margin account may be sold by the broker without the customer’s consent if the customer fails to meet a margin call and Company securities pledged (or hypothecated) as collateral for a loan may be sold in foreclosure if the borrower defaults on the loan. Any Company director, officer or employee, or their Family Members or Controlled Entities, preparing to pledge Company securities or hold such securities in a margin account must submit a request for approval to the Administrator at least two weeks prior to the proposed execution of documents evidencing the proposed pledge or margin account. In its request, such Company director, officer or employee, or their Family Members or Controlled Entities, shall:
| ● | enclose copies of the governing documents evidencing the proposed pledge or margin account, which governing documents must provide such person with the opportunity to substitute or provide additional collateral or to repay the loan before the pledged Company securities may be sold; and |
| ● | undertake to the Company (in form and manner satisfactory to the Administrator and the Company) (i) to maintain adequate financial capacity to repay the loan or cover the margin call, as applicable, without resort to the pledged Company securities and (ii) to substitute or provide additional collateral or repay the loan in the event of a borrower default or margin call, as applicable, at a time when such person is aware of Inside Information or otherwise is not permitted to trade Company securities due to a blackout period. |
The above is not meant to restrict the rehypothecation or lending of securities held in a brokerage account; provided that the securities are permitted to be held in such account in accordance with this Policy.
| XIII. | Additional Procedures |
The Company has established additional procedures in order to assist the Company in the administration of this Policy, to facilitate compliance with laws prohibiting insider trading while in possession of Inside Information, and to avoid the appearance of any impropriety. These additional procedures are applicable only to those individuals described below.
| A. | Pre-Clearance Procedures |
Section 16 Reporting Persons and Designated Individuals, as well as their Family Members and Controlled Entities, may not engage in any transaction in Company securities without first obtaining pre-clearance of the transaction from the Administrator in order to determine compliance with this Policy, insider trading laws, Section 16 of the Exchange Act and Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Rule 144”). A person requesting pre-clearance should submit the request to the Administrator (and, in the case of a request by any of the Co-Chief Executive Officers, also notify the Chief Financial Officer) at least two business days in advance of the proposed transaction. The Administrator may determine not to permit the transaction if it is not in compliance this Policy, insider trading laws, Section 16 of the Exchange Act or Rule 144. If a person seeks pre-clearance and permission to engage in the transaction is denied, then he or she should refrain from initiating any transaction in Company securities, and should not inform any other person of the restriction.
7
When a request for pre-clearance is made, the requestor should carefully consider whether he or she may be aware of any Inside Information about the Company, and should describe fully those circumstances to the Administrator. If the requestor is a Section 16 insider, the requestor should also indicate whether he or she has effected any non-exempt “opposite-way” transactions within the past six months, and should be prepared to report the proposed transaction on an appropriate Form 4 or Form 5. The requestor should also be prepared to comply with Rule 144 and file Form 144, if necessary, at the time of any sale.
| B. | Special Blackout Periods |
From time to time, an event may occur that is material to the Company and is known by only a few directors, officers and/or employees. So long as the event remains material and nonpublic, the persons with knowledge of the event who are designated by the Administrator may not trade Company securities. In that situation, the Administrator may notify these persons that they should not trade in the Company’s securities, without disclosing the reason for the restriction. The existence of an event-specific blackout period or extension of a blackout period may not be announced to the Company as a whole, and should not be communicated to any other person. Even if the Administrator has not designated you as a person who should not trade due to an event-specific restriction, you should not trade while aware of Inside Information.
| XIV. | Post-Termination Transactions |
If an individual is in possession of Inside Information or subject to any blackout period or other Company-imposed trading restrictions when his or her service terminates, that individual may not trade in Company securities until that information has become public, is no longer material or such blackout period or Company-imposed trading restriction has expired.
| XV. | Administration of thIS Policy |
Any of the Company’s Co-Chief Executive Officers, or in their absence the Chief Financial Officer, or with respect to matters involving the Company’s Co-Chief Executive Officers, the Chief Financial Officer (the “Administrator”), shall be responsible for administration of this Policy, including the matters for which the Administrator is specifically designated herein as administering or deciding and all other matters. All determinations and interpretations by the Administrator shall be subject to review by the Audit Committee, whose determinations shall be final.
| XVI. | Company Assistance / Reporting of Violations |
Any person who has any questions about this Policy or about specific transactions may obtain additional guidance from the Administrator. You should contact the Administrator immediately if you know or have reason to believe that this Policy has been or is about to be violated.
8
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-14(A) UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
We, Ajmal Rahman and Hugh Cochrane, certify that:
| 1. | We have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Apex Treasury Corporation; |
| 2. | Based on our knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on our knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | We and the registrant’s other certifying officer are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; and |
| b) | (Paragraph omitted pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-15(a)); |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | We and the registrant’s other certifying officer have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| Dated: March 26, 2026 | |
| /s/ Ajmal Rahman | |
| Ajmal Rahman | |
| Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman | |
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) | |
| /s/ Hugh Cochrane | |
| Hugh Cochrane | |
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13A-14(A) UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Paul Sykes, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Apex Treasury Corporation; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under my supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; and |
| b) | (Paragraph omitted pursuant to Exchange Act Rules 13a-14(a) and 15d-15(a)); |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report my conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Dated: March 26, 2026
| /s/ Paul Sykes | |
| Paul Sykes | |
| Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), we, Ajmal Rahman and Hugh Cochrane, Co-Principal Executive Officers of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to §906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of our knowledge:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| 2. | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
Dated: March 26, 2026
| /s/ Ajmal Rahman | |
| Ajmal Rahman | |
| Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chairman | |
|
(Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
| /s/ Hugh Cochrane | |
| Hugh Cochrane | |
| Co-Chief Executive Officer | |
|
(Co-Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Paul Sykes, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to §906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| 2. | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
Dated: March 26, 2026
| /s/ Paul Sykes | |
| Paul Sykes | |
| Chief Financial Officer | |
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Exhibit 97.1
APEX TREASURY CORPORATION
POLICY FOR THE
RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION
| A. | OVERVIEW |
In accordance with the applicable rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market (the “Nasdaq Rules”), Section 10D and Rule 10D-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (“Rule 10D-1”), the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”) has adopted this Policy (the “Policy”) to provide for the recovery of erroneously awarded Incentive-based Compensation from Executive Officers. All capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in Section H, below.
| B. | RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION |
(1) In the event of an Accounting Restatement, the Company will reasonably promptly recover the Erroneously Awarded Compensation Received in accordance with Nasdaq Rules and Rule 10D-1 as follows:
| (i) | After an Accounting Restatement, the Compensation Committee (if composed entirely of independent directors, or in the absence of such a committee, a majority of independent directors serving on the Board) (the “Committee”) shall determine the amount of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation Received by each Executive Officer and shall promptly notify each Executive Officer with a written notice containing the amount of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation and a demand for repayment or return of such compensation, as applicable. |
| (a) | For Incentive-based Compensation based on (or derived from) the Company’s stock price or total shareholder return, where the amount of Erroneously Awarded Compensation is not subject to mathematical recalculation directly from the information in the applicable Accounting Restatement: |
| i. | The amount to be repaid or returned shall be determined by the Committee based on a reasonable estimate of the effect of the Accounting Restatement on the Company’s stock price or total shareholder return upon which the Incentive-based Compensation was Received; and |
| ii. | The Company shall maintain documentation of the determination of such reasonable estimate and provide the relevant documentation as required to the Nasdaq. |
| (ii) | The Committee shall have discretion to determine the appropriate means of recovering Erroneously Awarded Compensation based on the particular facts and circumstances. Notwithstanding the foregoing, except as set forth in Section B(2) below, in no event may the Company accept an amount that is less than the amount of Erroneously Awarded Compensation in satisfaction of an Executive Officer’s obligations hereunder. |
| (iii) | To the extent that the Executive Officer has already reimbursed the Company for any Erroneously Awarded Compensation Received under any duplicative recovery obligations established by the Company or applicable law, it shall be appropriate for any such reimbursed amount to be credited to the amount of Erroneously Awarded Compensation that is subject to recovery under this Policy. |
| (iv) | To the extent that an Executive Officer fails to repay all Erroneously Awarded Compensation to the Company when due, the Company shall take all actions reasonable and appropriate to recover such Erroneously Awarded Compensation from the applicable Executive Officer. The applicable Executive Officer shall be required to reimburse the Company for any and all expenses reasonably incurred (including legal fees) by the Company in recovering such Erroneously Awarded Compensation in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence. |
(2) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to take the actions contemplated by Section B(1) above if the Committee (which, as specified above, is composed entirely of independent directors or in the absence of such a committee, a majority of the independent directors serving on the Board) determines that recovery would be impracticable and any of the following two conditions are met:
| (i) | The Committee has determined that the direct expenses paid to a third party to assist in enforcing the Policy would exceed the amount to be recovered. Before making this determination, the Company must make a reasonable attempt to recover the Erroneously Awarded Compensation, documented such attempt(s) and provided such documentation to the Nasdaq; or |
| (ii) | Recovery would likely cause an otherwise tax-qualified retirement plan, under which benefits are broadly available to employees of the Company, to fail to meet the requirements of Section 401(a)(13) or Section 411(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and regulations thereunder. |
| C. | DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS |
The Company shall file all disclosures with respect to this Policy required by applicable U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings and rules.
| D. | PROHIBITION OF INDEMNIFICATION |
The Company shall not be permitted to insure or indemnify any Executive Officer against (i) the loss of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation that is repaid, returned or recovered pursuant to the terms of this Policy, or (ii) any claims relating to the Company’s enforcement of its rights under this Policy. Further, the Company shall not enter into any agreement that exempts any Incentive-based Compensation that is granted, paid or awarded to an Executive Officer from the application of this Policy or that waives the Company’s right to recovery of any Erroneously Awarded Compensation, and this Policy shall supersede any such agreement (whether entered into before, on or after the Effective Date of this Policy).
2
| E. | ADMINISTRATION AND INTERPRETATION |
This Policy shall be administered by the Committee, and any determinations made by the Committee shall be final and binding on all affected individuals.
The Committee is authorized to interpret and construe this Policy and to make all determinations necessary, appropriate, or advisable for the administration of this Policy and for the Company’s compliance with Nasdaq Rules, Section 10D, Rule 10D-1 and any other applicable law, regulation, rule or interpretation of the SEC or Nasdaq promulgated or issued in connection therewith.
| F. | AMENDMENT; TERMINATION |
The Committee may amend this Policy from time to time in its discretion and shall amend this Policy as it deems necessary. Notwithstanding anything in this Section F to the contrary, no amendment or termination of this Policy shall be effective if such amendment or termination would (after taking into account any actions taken by the Company contemporaneously with such amendment or termination) cause the Company to violate any federal securities laws, SEC rule or Nasdaq rule.
| G. | OTHER RECOVERY RIGHTS |
This Policy shall be binding and enforceable against all Executive Officers and, to the extent required by applicable law or guidance from the SEC or Nasdaq, their beneficiaries, heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives. The Committee intends that this Policy will be applied to the fullest extent required by applicable law. Any employment agreement, equity award agreement, compensatory plan or any other agreement or arrangement with an Executive Officer shall be deemed to include, as a condition to the grant of any benefit thereunder, an agreement by the Executive Officer to abide by the terms of this Policy. Any right of recovery under this Policy is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedies or rights of recovery that may be available to the Company under applicable law, regulation or rule or pursuant to the terms of any policy of the Company or any provision in any employment agreement, equity award agreement, compensatory plan, agreement or other arrangement.
| H. | DEFINITIONS |
For purposes of this Policy, the following capitalized terms shall have the meanings set forth below.
(1) “Accounting Restatement” means an accounting restatement due to the material noncompliance of the Company with any financial reporting requirement under the securities laws, including any required accounting restatement to correct an error in previously issued financial statements that is material to the previously issued financial statements (a “Big R” restatement), or that would result in a material misstatement if the error were corrected in the current period or left uncorrected in the current period (a “little r” restatement).
(2) “Clawback Eligible Incentive Compensation” means all Incentive-based Compensation Received by an Executive Officer (i) on or after the effective date of the applicable Nasdaq rules, (ii) after beginning service as an Executive Officer, (iii) who served as an Executive Officer at any time during the applicable performance period relating to any Incentive-based Compensation (whether or not such Executive Officer is serving at the time the Erroneously Awarded Compensation is required to be repaid to the Company), (iv) while the Company has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange or a national securities association, and (v) during the applicable Clawback Period (as defined below).
3
(3) “Clawback Period” means, with respect to any Accounting Restatement, the three completed fiscal years of the Company immediately preceding the Restatement Date (as defined below), and if the Company changes its fiscal year, any transition period of less than nine months within or immediately following those three completed fiscal years.
(4) “Erroneously Awarded Compensation” means, with respect to each Executive Officer in connection with an Accounting Restatement, the amount of Clawback Eligible Incentive Compensation that exceeds the amount of Incentive-based Compensation that otherwise would have been Received had it been determined based on the restated amounts, computed without regard to any taxes paid.
(5) “Executive Officer” means each individual who is currently or was previously designated as an “officer” of the Company as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) under the Exchange Act. For the avoidance of doubt, the identification of an executive officer for purposes of this Policy shall include each executive officer who is or was identified pursuant to Item 401(b) of Regulation S-K or Item 6.A of Form 20-F, as applicable, as well as the principal financial officer and principal accounting officer (or, if there is no principal accounting officer, the controller).
(6) “Financial Reporting Measures” means measures that are determined and presented in accordance with the accounting principles used in preparing the Company’s financial statements, and all other measures that are derived wholly or in part from such measures. Stock price and total shareholder return (and any measures that are derived wholly or in part from stock price or total shareholder return) shall, for purposes of this Policy, be considered Financial Reporting Measures. For the avoidance of doubt, a Financial Reporting Measure need not be presented in the Company’s financial statements or included in a filing with the SEC.
(7) “Incentive-based Compensation” means any compensation that is granted, earned or vested based wholly or in part upon the attainment of a Financial Reporting Measure.
(8) “Nasdaq” means The Nasdaq Stock Market.
(9) “Received” means, with respect to any Incentive-based Compensation, actual or deemed receipt, and Incentive-based Compensation shall be deemed received in the Company’s fiscal period during which the Financial Reporting Measure specified in the Incentive-based Compensation award is attained, even if the payment or grant of the Incentive-based Compensation to the Executive Officer occurs after the end of that period.
(10) “Restatement Date” means the earlier to occur of (i) the date the Board, a committee of the Board or the officers of the Company authorized to take such action if Board action is not required, concludes, or reasonably should have concluded, that the Company is required to prepare an Accounting Restatement, or (ii) the date a court, regulator or other legally authorized body directs the Company to prepare an Accounting Restatement.
Effective as of October 27, 2025.
4
Exhibit A
ATTESTATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF POLICY FOR
THE RECOVERY OF
ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION
By my signature below, I acknowledge and agree that:
| ● | I have received and read the attached Policy for the Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation (this “Policy”) of Apex Treasury Corporation (the “Company”). |
| ● | I hereby agree to abide by all of the terms of this Policy both during and after my employment with the Company, including, without limitation, by promptly repaying or returning any Erroneously Awarded Compensation to the Company as determined in accordance with this Policy. |
| ● | I hereby waive any right to the indemnification, insurance or advancement of expenses by the Company with respect to any Erroneously Awarded Compensation in accordance with Section D of this Policy. |
| Signature: _____________________________ | |
| Printed Name: __________________________ | |
| Date: _________________________________ |
Signature Page to Policy for The Recovery of Erroneously Awarded Compensation