COOL 10-K
Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. (COOL)
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
For the fiscal year ended
For the transition period from ___________ to ____________
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(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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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 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 Exchange Act of 1934 during the past 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirement 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 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit 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 | ☐ |
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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 ordinary shares are not publicly traded. Accordingly, there is no market value for the registrant’s ordinary shares.
As of July 1, 2025,
Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP
FORM 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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CERTAIN TERMS
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or the context otherwise requires, references to:
· | “amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” refers to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as the same may be amended from time to time; |
· | “Companies Act” refers to the Companies Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
· | “founder shares” refers to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to our Initial Public Offering and the Class A ordinary shares that are or were issued upon the conversion of the Class B ordinary shares (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”); |
· | “Initial Public Offering” or “IPO” refers to our offering on December 16, 2020 of 40,000,000 units (which includes an additional 5,000,000 units sold pursuant to the partial exercise of the underwriter’s over-allotment option) at a price of $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one redeemable warrant; |
· | “initial shareholders” refers to our sponsor and each other holder of founder shares upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering; |
· | “management” or our “management team” refers to our executive officers and directors; |
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· | “new sponsor” or “Purchaser” refer to Ringwood Field, LLC; |
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· | “old sponsor” refers to CGA Sponsor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
· | “ordinary shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
· | “public shares” refers to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering (whether they were purchased in our Initial Public Offering or thereafter in the open market); |
· | “public shareholders” refers to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
· | “sponsor” refers collectively to the old sponsor and new sponsor; |
· | “we,” “us,” “our,” “Company,” “our company” or “Corner Growth” refer to Corner Growth Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS; SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (the “Annual Report”) of 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 Annual Report may include, for example, statements about:
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
● | 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 ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
● | 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 Annual Report 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) and 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 Annual Report 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.
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PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in October 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this Annual Report as our initial business combination. To date, our efforts have been limited to our organizational activities and activities relating to the Initial Public Offering and the identification and evaluation of prospective acquisition targets for our initial business combination. We have generated no operating revenues to date and we do not expect that we will generate operating revenues until, at the earliest, we consummate our initial business combination. We may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location we choose.
Initial Public Offering
On December 21, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 40,000,000 units, which include the partial exercise by the underwriters of the overallotment option to purchase an additional 5,000,000 Units, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $400,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 7,600,000 warrants at a price of $1.50 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) to to the prior sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,400,000. A portion of the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering and private placement of units was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) for the benefit of public stockholders.
Termination of Noventiq Business Combination Agreement
On May 4, 2023, the Company entered into a definitive Business Combination Agreement (the “Business Combination Agreement”) with Noventiq Holdings PLC, an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“Noventiq”), formerly known as Softline Holding plc, and certain other parties. The Business Combination Agreement contemplated a series of mergers that would result in Noventiq becoming a publicly traded entity on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
On December 29, 2023, the parties amended and restated the Business Combination Agreement to modify certain terms, including adjustments to the consideration structure and a revised equity valuation for Noventiq. The amendments were intended to reflect updated market conditions and optimize the structure of the proposed transaction.
On July 3, 2024, the parties to the Business Combination Agreement, the Company, the sponsor, Noventiq and Noventiq Merger 1 Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Noventiq Holding Company, entered into a settlement agreement, pursuant to which the parties agreed (i) to mutually terminate the Business Combination Agreement and all other Transaction Documents (as defined in the Business Combination Agreement) (collectively, the “Ancillary Agreements”) and (ii) to a mutual release of all claims related to the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby. The mutual termination of the Business Combination Agreement and the Ancillary Agreements is effective as of July 3, 2024. The parties agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement as a result of current unfavourable market conditions and other factors.
Sponsor Transition
On August 15, 2024, the Company, the old sponsor, the new sponsor, and Alexandre Balkanski, John Mulkey and Jason Park, each a former director of the Company, entered into a purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, among other things: (a) the old sponsor transferred to the Purchaser an aggregate of 5,895,000 Ordinary Shares; (b) the purchaser executed a joinder agreement to become a party to that certain letter agreement, dated December 16, 2020, and that certain Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 16, 2020, each originally entered into in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”), among the Company, the old sponsor and certain equityholders of the Company; (c) the old sponsor and holders of the Class B ordinary shares gave to Purchaser the irrevocable right to vote the shares retained by them on their behalf and to take certain other actions on their behalf; (d) the old sponsor agreed to cancel an aggregate of 7,600,000 private placement warrants purchased by the old sponsor at the time of the IPO; and (e) certain creditors agreed to cancel or reduce certain amounts owed by the Company to them and to assign the liability for any remaining amounts owed to them by the Company to the Sponsor. In addition, the Company, the old sponsor, the purchaser and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as underwriter of the IPO (“Cantor”), entered into an agreement whereby Cantor agreed to accept a certain number of ordinary shares upon consummation of any business combination in lieu of the cash deferred commissions owed to it from the IPO.
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Initial Business Combination
On June 25, 2024, the Company’s units, ordinary shares and warrants were delisted from Nasdaq and transitioned to the OTCQB Venture Market (“OTCQB”). Since the Company’s securities are no longer listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market and are now traded on the OTCQB, it is no longer required to comply with Nasdaq’s 80% of net assets test when effecting an initial business combination. Previously, under Nasdaq listing rules, the Company was required to complete a business combination with one or more target businesses that together had an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account, excluding deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on interest and other income earned on the trust account. Following the Company’s delisting from Nasdaq on June 25, 2024, and transition to the OTCQB, this requirement is no longer applicable.
If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination 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-business combination 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-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the 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 shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
On February 29, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “February 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”), to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (i) extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from March 20, 2024 to June 30, 2024 (the “Extended Date”) or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its sole discretion (such proposal, the “February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal”). The shareholders of the Company approved the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal and the Company filed the articles amendment with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands.
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In connection with the vote to approve the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem 83,349 Class A ordinary shares, resulting in redemption payments out of the trust account totaling $911,508, or approximately $10.94 per share which includes $78,018 of earnings in the trust account not previously withdrawn. Subsequent to the redemptions, 10,161,589 Class A ordinary shares remained issued and outstanding.
On June 24, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting (the “June 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”), to amend and restate the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from June 30, 2024 to July 31, 2024 (the “June 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal”). The shareholders of the Company approved the June 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal and on June 24, 2024, the Company filed the articles amendment with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands. In connection with the June 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting, shareholders elected to redeem 38,647 Class A ordinary shares, resulting in redemption payments out of the trust account totaling $426,663, or approximately $11.04 per share. After the satisfaction of such redemptions, the balance in the Company’s trust account was approximately $3.3 million.
On July 31, 2024, pursuant to Article 49.7 of the Articles of the Company, the Company’s board of directors approved an extension of the Extended Date (as defined in the Articles) from July 31, 2024 to August 31, 2024.
On October 31, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting (the “October 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting” and, together with the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal and the June 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, the “Extension Proposals”), to amend and restate the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from October 31, 2024 to December 31, 2025 (the “October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal”). The shareholders of the Company approved the October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal and on October 31, 2024, the Company filed the articles amendment with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands. An aggregate of 10,075,313 ordinary shares of the Company, which represented a quorum of the outstanding ordinary shares entitled to vote as of the record date of September 26, 2024, were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting. In connection with the October 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting, public holders of an aggregate of 124,289 Class A ordinary shares of the Company sold in its initial public offering exercised, and did not reverse, their right to redeem their shares.
The initial shareholders have agreed not to propose an amendment to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemption in connection with its initial business combination or to redeem 100% of its Class A ordinary shares if the Company does not complete a business combination by the Extended Date (the “Combination Period”) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete a business combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution 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 liquidation distributions, if any) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and other requirements of applicable law.
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The initial shareholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the founder shares if the Company fails to complete a business combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders or members of the Company’s management team acquire public shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if the Company fails to complete a business combination within the Combination Period. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including trust account assets) will be only the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, the sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
Conflicts of Interest
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our new sponsor or any of our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
In addition, certain of our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities (including Corner Growth Acquisition Corp 2, or Corner Growth 2). As a result, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he, she or it has then- current fiduciary or contractual obligations, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he, she or it will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
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. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. However, we do not currently expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor, 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 management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
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Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We believe our management team’s investment and operational experience and relationships with companies provides us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. We may also engage additional services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or their respective affiliates paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review that may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We also utilize our management team’s operational and capital planning experience.
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. We will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| · | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
| · | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
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We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management, director or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons.
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
| · | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; |
| · | the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; |
| · | the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; |
| · | other time and budget constraints of the company; and |
| · | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders. |
Permitted Purchases 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, which redemptions would be separate from and in addition to redemptions we have already conducted in connection with the Extension Proposals, our sponsor, 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. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or 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. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
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In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such transaction could be to (i) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination (as purchased shares could not be voted against any proposed transaction) or (ii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our 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.
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 Class A ordinary 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 and other income earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is anticipated to be $11.33 per public share as of December 31, 2024 (including accrued interest). The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement 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 where we do not survive and any transactions where we seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. So long as we maintain a listing for our securities on the Nasdaq, are be required to comply with the Nasdaq rules.
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If we hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, 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, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, unless applicable law or applicable stock exchange rules require a different vote, in which case we will complete our initial business combination only if such requisite vote is received. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, the voting of our initial shareholders’ founder shares in favor of our initial business combination will suffice to approve such initial business combination and we will not need any of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. In addition, our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into agreements with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) any shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| · | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
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| · | 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. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than 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 such initial business combination.
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Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
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, which redemptions would be separate from and in addition to redemptions we have already conducted in connection with the Extension Proposals, 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 more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our Initial Public Offering without our prior consent. 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 shares sold in our Initial Public Offering 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 shares sold in our Initial Public Offering without our prior consent, 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 any shares in excess of the 15% limit) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/ Withdrawal At Custodian) System (“DWAC System”), at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
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Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us or as otherwise provided in the proxy statement. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until December 31, 2025.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we have until December 31, 2025, to consummate an initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest and other income earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
Our sponsor and each member of our management team 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 any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025 (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame).
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, 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 and other income earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer or director, or any other person.
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If necessary, we expect that costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the funds held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
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 $10.00 . The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors, which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including, but not limited, to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third-party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. 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 (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our income tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of the company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest that may be withdrawn to pay our income tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
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If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders are 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 by December 31, 2025, (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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of the initial business combination. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, 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 greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses is 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.
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Employees
We currently have one executive officer. This individual is not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but he intends to devote as much of his time as he deems necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time he 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.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We registered our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, generally accepted accounting principles of the United States (“GAAP”), or International Financial Reporting Standards (“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 (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. 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 not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Prior to the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Act. As an exempted company, we applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Act (As Revised) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 30 years from the date of the undertaking, no law that is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
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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 Initial Public Offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.23 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), 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” 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 exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Summary of 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” before making a decision to invest in our units. 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. Such risks include, but are not limited to:
Risks Relating to Our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
| · | We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| · | Past performance by our management team or their respective affiliates, including may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| · | Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination. |
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| · | Your only opportunity to affect the 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 sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
| · | 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 may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
| · | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares. |
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| · | The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025 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 could produce value for our shareholders. |
| · | We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless. |
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| · | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. |
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| · | If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
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| · | You do 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. |
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| · | You are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
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| · | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. |
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Risks Relating to Our Sponsor and Our Management Team
| · | Since our new sponsor, executive officer, director and other affiliates will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or after our Initial Public Offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination. |
| · | We are dependent upon our executive officer and director and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate. |
| · | Our executive officer and director will allocate their time to other businesses, including Corner Growth 2, 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 officer and director presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including Corner Growth 2, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
Risks Relating to our Securities
| · | The Company’s securities are not listed on a national securities exchange and as a result there is limited trading of the Company’s securities. |
| · | 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 will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares. |
| · | 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. |
| · | 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. |
General Risks
| · | Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss. |
| · | Our proximity to our liquidation date expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.” |
We describe these risks in greater detail below.
Risk Factors
Risks Relating to Our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
and Post-Business Combination Risks.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are an exempted company under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning 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.
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Past performance by our management team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience or performance of our management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (i) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (ii) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their respective affiliates as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, if any. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would typically not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing 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. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
Your only opportunity to affect the 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 any target businesses. If our board of directors determines to complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders will exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If the agreement for our initial business combination requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the Trust Account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure.
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The ability of our Public Shareholders to exercise redemption rights could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If the agreement for our initial business combination requires us to use a portion of the cash in the Trust Account to pay the purchase price or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful would be increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the Trust Account until we liquidate the Trust Account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your share in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the Trust Account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our new sponsor and management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our initial shareholders, including our sponsor, own approximately 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our sponsor and members of our 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, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, unless applicable law or applicable stock exchange rules require a different vote, in which case we will complete our initial business combination only if such requisite vote is received. As a result, the voting of our initial shareholders’ founder shares in favor of our initial business combination will suffice to approve such initial business combination and we will not need any of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and each member of our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will ensure that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025 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 consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025. 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 time frame 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.
Our search for an initial business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate an initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected by new outbreaks, or continuation of any existing outbreaks, of any infectious disease (such as COVID-19) and other events, and the status of debt and equity markets.
Any new outbreaks, or continuation of any existing outbreaks, of any infectious disease (such as COVID-19) or other events (such as terrorist attacks, armed conflicts or natural disasters) could adversely affect economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate an initial business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete an initial business combination if concerns relating to any outbreak of a disease restricts travel or limits the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers. The extent to which any new outbreak or the continuation of any existing situation impacts our search for an initial business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If any such event (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continues for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate an initial business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate an initial business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
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In addition, our ability to consummate an initial business combination may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by outside events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of infectious diseases), including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
Since the fourth quarter of 2020, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have completed initial public offerings has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause target companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
Any business combination may be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations, which may impose conditions on or prevent the consummation of a business combination. Such conditions or limitations could also potentially make the Company’s ordinary shares less attractive to investors or cause our future investments to be subject to U.S. foreign investment regulations.
Investments that involve the acquisition of, or investment in, a U.S. business by a non-U.S. investor may be subject to U.S. laws that regulate foreign investments in U.S. businesses and access by foreign persons to technology developed and produced in the United States. These laws include Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended by the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018, and the regulations at 31 C.F.R. Parts 800 and 802, as amended, administered by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”).
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” (in each case, as such terms are defined in 31 C.F.R. Part 800) always are subject to CFIUS jurisdiction. Significant CFIUS reform legislation, which was fully implemented through regulations that became effective in 2020, expanded the scope of CFIUS’s jurisdiction to 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,” “covered investment critical infrastructure,” and/or “sensitive personal data” (in each case, as such terms are defined in 31 C.F.R. Part 800).
The managers and officers of the sponsor are all U.S. persons and the voting power in the sponsor is held by U.S. persons; however, non-U.S. persons made the majority of capital contributions to the sponsor. As a result, the contemplated investments by the sponsor and foreign persons controlling any private investment in public equity investors in connection with any business combination may result in investments in us by non-U.S. persons that could be considered by CFIUS to be “covered transactions” under CFIUS’ regulations. CFIUS or another U.S. governmental agency could choose to review any business combination, even if a filing with CFIUS is not required. If we do not make a filing in connection with a business combination, there can be no assurances that CFIUS or another U.S. governmental agency will not choose to review any business combination. Any review and approval of an investment or transaction by CFIUS may have outsized impacts on transaction certainty, timing, feasibility, and cost, and could limit the pool of potential targets with which the Company can complete an initial business combination, among other things. CFIUS policies and agency practices are rapidly evolving, and in the event that CFIUS reviews any business combination or one or more proposed or existing investment by investors, there can be no assurances that such investors will be able to maintain, or proceed with, such investments on terms acceptable to the parties to the business combination or such investors. Among other things, CFIUS could seek to impose limitations or restrictions on, or prohibit, investments by such investors (including, but not limited to, limits on purchasing the Company’s ordinary shares, limits on information sharing with such investors, requiring a voting trust, governance modifications, or forced divestiture, among other things) or CFIUS could order us to divest all or a portion of a target company if we had proceeded without first obtaining CFIUS clearance.
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If CFIUS elects to review any business combination, the time necessary to complete such review of the business combination or a decision by CFIUS to prohibit the business combination could prevent us from completing any business combination and may force the Company to liquidate and dissolve. In the event of liquidation, there will be no distribution with respect to our outstanding warrants. Accordingly, any warrants held by investors will expire worthless.
We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination by December 31, 2025. 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 as a result of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of infectious diseases. Such risks (e.g., terrorist attacks, war, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) may also negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire.
If we have not consummated an initial business combination within such applicable time period and shareholders do not otherwise amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the time we have to consummate an initial business combination, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest and other income earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or 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. 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 or warrants in such transactions.
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In the event that our sponsor, 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. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination (as such shares would no longer be eligible to be voted against a business combination) or (2) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our 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. 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.
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 solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You may 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 are 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 tendered 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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances does a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants do 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.
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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these 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 greater technical, human and other resources 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 our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable are 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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may be dependent on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
As of December 31, 2024, we had $0 in cash held outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, its affiliates, members of our management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor their affiliates is under any obligation to us in such circumstances. Any such advances may 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 warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team 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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 the past. The premiums charged for such policies have increased at times 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’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
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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.
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 extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If our initial business combination involves a company organized under the laws of a state of the United States, it is possible a 1% U.S. federal excise tax will be imposed on us in connection with redemptions of our Ordinary Shares after or in connection with such initial business combination.
On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 became law in the United States, which, among other things, imposes a 1% excise tax on the fair market value of certain repurchases (including certain redemptions) of shares by publicly traded domestic (i.e., United States) corporations (and certain non-U.S. corporations treated as “surrogate foreign corporations”). The amount of the excise tax is generally 1% of the fair market value of the shares repurchased at the time of the repurchase. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has been given authority to provide regulations and other guidance to carry out, and prevent the abuse or avoidance of, the excise tax. For instance, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued guidance clarifying when certain repurchases would be exempt from the excise tax, such as where the repurchases occur in the same year that the repurchasing company undertakes a complete liquidation (as described in Section 331 of the Internal Revenue Code). However, only limited guidance has been issued to date.
As an entity incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company, the 1% excise tax is not expected to apply to redemptions of our Ordinary Shares (absent any regulations and other additional guidance that may be issued in the future with retroactive effect). However, in connection with an initial business combination involving a company organized under the laws of the United States, it is possible that we domesticate and continue as a U.S. corporation prior to certain redemptions and, because our securities are trading on Nasdaq, it is possible that we will be subject to the excise tax with respect to any subsequent redemptions, including redemptions in connection with the initial business combination, that are treated as repurchases for this purpose (other than, pursuant to recently issued guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, redemptions in complete liquidation of the company). In all cases, the extent of the excise tax that may be incurred will depend on a number of factors, including the fair market value of our shares redeemed, the extent such redemptions could be treated as dividends and not repurchases, and the content of any regulations and other additional guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury that may be issued and applicable to the redemptions. Issuances of shares by a repurchasing company in a year in which such company repurchases shares may reduce the amount of excise tax imposed with respect to such repurchase. The excise tax is imposed on the repurchasing company itself, not the shareholders from which shares are repurchased. The imposition of the excise tax as a result of redemptions in connection with the initial business combination or in connection with any extension of time to consummate an initial business combination could, however, reduce the amount of cash available to pay redemptions or reduce the cash contribution to the target business in connection with our initial business combination, which could cause the other shareholders of the combined company to economically bear the impact of such excise tax.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public 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 (other than 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 perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. 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 have not consummated an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, due to claims of such creditors, 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. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third-party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our income tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of the 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.
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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 net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our income tax obligations, 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.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. 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 bankruptcy or insolvency 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 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 or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency 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 our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
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 estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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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. 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.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
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 of shareholders, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares are not entitled to vote on any appointment of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares are not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. 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 may not have any say in the management of the company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic area or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you may be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we are not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. 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. 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 securities 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 holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors that may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, 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 units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in our Initial Public Offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this Annual Report on 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 adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, 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 an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders 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 solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account 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 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 that could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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. 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 or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
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In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check 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 may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, 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 will require at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our Ordinary Shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and amending our warrant agreement requires a vote of holders of at least 65% 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, 65% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution that requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our Ordinary Shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check 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.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter that prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those that relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the private placement of 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) may be amended if approved by special resolution, meaning holders of at least two-thirds of our Ordinary Shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our Ordinary Shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our Ordinary Shares who attend and vote at our general meeting that shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares. Our initial shareholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who collectively beneficially owned, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of our Initial Public Offering, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and 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 that govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association.
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Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest and other income earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, do not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers or directors 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.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike many blank check companies, if (i) 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 (as defined in the warrant agreement) of less than $9.20 per 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 on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value (as defined in the warrant agreement) is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted 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 will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 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 have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect 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 holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders or warrant holders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Act, reincorporate in 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, or otherwise subject it to adverse tax consequences, 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. 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, or other adverse tax consequences, with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
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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.
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 managing cross-border business operations; |
| · | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| · | complex 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; |
| · | 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; |
| · | 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 and wars; and |
| · | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
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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 combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues that may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in any such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government 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.
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.
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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following our Initial Public Offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| · | 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 is payable on demand; |
| · | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| · | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| · | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, 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. |
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Risks Relating to Our Sponsor and Our Management Team
Since our new sponsor, executive officers, directors and other affiliates will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they acquired during or may acquire after our Initial Public Offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On August 15, 2024, our old sponsor, CGA Sponsor, LLC, transferred 5,895,000 Class A ordinary shares to Ringwood Field, LLC, our new sponsor, which now beneficially owns approximately 97.1% of our outstanding shares and exercises full control over the Company. In connection with the August 15, 2024 change in management, 7,600,000 private placement warrants were canceled. If we fail to complete a business combination by December 31, 2025, our new sponsor will lose its 5,895,000 Class A ordinary shares acquired in August 2024.
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While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration and shareholder rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our shareholders, may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible, and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities. 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 December 31, 2025 nears, which is the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, 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, 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 executive officers and directors allocate their time to other businesses (including Corner Growth 2) 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 do not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. In particular, an affiliate of our sponsor and our officers and directors participated in the formation of and/or are actively engaged in the management of Corner Growth 2. Like us Corner Growth 2 is focused on the technology sector. In addition, our founders, 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, including Corner Growth 2, may compete with us for business combination opportunities. 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 that may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including Corner Growth 2, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of our Initial Public Offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses or entities. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including fiduciary and contractual duties to Corner Growth 2, pursuant to which such officer or director is or may be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or in being offered an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our executive officers, directors, 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, executive officers, 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 executive officers, although we do not intend to do so. We also do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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 shareholders’ best interests. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally 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, director 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 and such management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company. 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.
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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, executive officers, directors, initial shareholders or other affiliates that may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors, initial shareholders or other affiliates. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. 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 and guidelines for a business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors, initial shareholders or other affiliates, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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 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.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
The Company’s securities are not listed on a national securities exchange and as a result there is limited trading of the Company’s securities.
The Company’s securities have been delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market and are not currently trading. The Company expects that its securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market prior to consummation of an initial business combination although there is no assurance that this will occur. As a result, the Company could face significant material adverse consequences, including: (i) a limited availability of market quotations for the Company’s securities, (ii) reduced liquidity for the Company’s securities, (iii) a determination that the public shares are “penny stocks” which will require brokers trading in the public shares to adhere to more stringent rules, including being subject to the depository requirements of Rule 419 of the Securities Act, and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for the Company’s securities, (iv) a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future, and (v) making the Company a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business in connection with an initial business combination. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s ability to consummate an initial business combination.
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If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will 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 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), is restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our Initial Public Offering, which we refer to as the “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.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the 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 the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also 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 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.
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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.
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 a staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our Class B ordinary shares, which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the appointment of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for 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.
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.
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.
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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 in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
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 in connection with our redeeming the warrants. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| · | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our Initial Public Offering, 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; |
| · | may subordinate 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; |
| ·
| could cause a 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; |
| · | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| · | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
| · | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
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 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, 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 correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement incorporated by reference to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, or defective provision (ii) amending 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, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment 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, 65% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% 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 warrants, convert the warrants into cash, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within 20 business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
The grant of registration rights to our sponsor 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 a registration and shareholder rights agreement entered into in connection with the closing of our Initial Public Offering, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. 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 securities that is expected when the securities owned by our sponsor or its permitted transferees are registered for resale.
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 the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and 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 for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. 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, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
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If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| · | 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 with the SEC; |
| · | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| · | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business is to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be held in cash or invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. 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. To mitigate the risk of us being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company under the Investment Company Act, on March 28, 2024 we instructed Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the trust account and thereafter to hold all funds in the trust account in cash (i.e., in one or more bank accounts). The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered 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 provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by December 31, 2025 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, 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. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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Notwithstanding the foregoing, there remains uncertainty concerning the applicability of the Investment Company Act to a SPAC, including a company like ours, which does not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the effective date of its IPO registration statement. As a result, it is possible that a claim could be made that we have been operating as an unregistered investment company. If we were deemed to be an investment company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we might be forced to abandon our efforts to complete an initial business combination and instead be required to liquidate the Company. If we are required to liquidate the Company, our investors would not be able to realize the benefits of owning shares in a successor operating business, including the potential appreciation in the value of our shares and warrants or rights following such a transaction, and our warrants or rights would expire worthless.
The funds in the trust account have, since the Initial Public Offering, been held only in cash or U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, 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. To mitigate the risk of us being deemed to have been operating as an unregistered investment company under the Investment Company, we have instructed Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the trustee with respect to the trust account, to liquidate the U.S. government securities or money market funds held in the trust account and thereafter to hold all funds in the trust account in cash (i.e., in one or more bank accounts) in anticipation of the closing of our initial business combination, until the earliest of the Company’s completion of an initial business combination or December 31, 2025, as applicable. Following such liquidation of the assets in the trust account, we will likely receive minimal interest, if any, on the funds held in the trust account, which would reduce the dollar amount our public shareholders would have otherwise received upon any redemption or liquidation of the Company if the assets in the trust account had remained in U.S. government securities or money market funds.
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 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 any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out 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 that 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.
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Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 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.
General Risks
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 robust investments in data security protection, we may be vulnerable against such occurrences. As such, 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 U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. holder 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. 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 qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the start-up exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current taxable year). Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request by a U.S. holder, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
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Item 1C. Cybersecurity
As a blank check company, we have no operations and therefore do not have any operations of our own that face cybersecurity threats. Since our IPO, our sole business activity has been identifying and evaluating suitable acquisition transaction candidates. Therefore, we do not consider that we face significant cybersecurity risk and have not adopted any cybersecurity risk management program or formal processes for assessing cybersecurity risk. However, we do depend on the digital technologies of
Item 2. Properties
We currently maintain our executive offices at 418 Broadway, #6183, Albany, NY 12207 provided to us by the new sponsor for no cost. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
(a) Market Information
As of June 25, 2024 our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants are no longer traded on a national securities exchange. Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants previously traded on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the symbols “COOLU,” “COOL” and “COOLW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on December 17, 2020. Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on February 8, 2021. Our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants were delisted from Nasdaq on June 25, 2024.
(b) Holders
On December 31, 2024, there was one holder of record of our units, two holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares, four holders of record of our Class B ordinary shares and two holders of record of our warrants.
(c) 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 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 condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
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(e) Performance Graph
Not applicable.
(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Concurrently with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our old sponsor purchased 7,600,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating proceeds of $11,400,000. Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants was added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the trust account. If the company does not complete an initial business combination by December 31, 2025, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are substantially similar to the warrants underlying the units issued in the Initial Public Offering, except that they are non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees. The sponsor and the company’s officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their private placement warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial business combination. The sale of the private placement warrants was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
In connection with the August 15, 2024 change in management, the 7,600,000 private placement warrants were canceled.
Use of Proceeds
In connection with our Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of approximately $22,766,000 (including underwriting commissions of $8,000,000 and deferred underwriting commissions of $14,000,000). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of formation and preparation fees related to the Initial Public Offering.
(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
References to the “company,” “Corner Growth,” “our,” “us” or “we” refer to Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. The following discussion and analysis of the company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on October 20, 2020 (inception) as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “business combination”). While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business, industry, sector or geographical location, we focus on industries that complement our management team’s background, and in our search for targets for our business combination seek to capitalize on the ability of our management team to identify and acquire a business, focusing on the technology industry in the United States and other developed countries.
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The registration statement for our Initial Public Offering was declared effective on December 16, 2020. On December 21, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 40,000,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $400,000,000, and incurring offering costs of approximately $22,766,000, inclusive of $14,000,000 in deferred underwriting commissions (which were reduced by $10,000,000 to $4,000,000 during our fourth fiscal quarter in 2022). Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole public warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the private placement of 7,600,000 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant to the sponsor, generating gross proceeds of $11,400,000. Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share.
Upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering and private placement, $400,000,000 ($10.00 per Unit) of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds of the private placement were placed in the trust account, located in the United States at JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and are being held in cash until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a business combination and (ii) the distribution of the assets held in the trust account. Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the private placement, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied toward consummating an initial business combination.
On December 29, 2023, the Company and the original parties to the definitive business combination agreement entered into an amended and restated business combination agreement (as amended and restarted, the “Business Combination Agreement”) by and among the Company, Noventiq, Noventiq Holding Company, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Parent”), Noventiq Merger 1 Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“CGAC Merger Sub”), and Corner Growth SPAC Merger Sub, Inc., a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Noventiq Merger Sub”). The Business Combination Agreement provides, among other things, that (i) the Company will merge with and into CGAC Merger Sub (the “CGAC Merger”), with CGAC Merger Sub surviving the CGAC Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent and (ii) Noventiq Merger Sub will merge with and into Noventiq (the “Noventiq Merger,” and together with the CGAC Merger, the “Mergers”), with Noventiq surviving the Noventiq Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the transactions contemplated by the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii) the “Proposed Business Combination,” and together with the other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, the “Proposed Transactions”). As a result of the consummation of the Proposed Transactions, Noventiq will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent. The aggregate consideration to be paid in the Proposed Transactions to the owners of Noventiq will consist of 31,500,000 Parent’s newly issued Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Parent ordinary shares”). The aggregate consideration to be paid in the Transactions to the shareholders of the Company, assuming no redemptions by public shareholders, will consist of 5,419,938 Parent ordinary shares. Upon consummation of the Proposed Business Combination, Parent will become the public company and the name of the public company will be “Noventiq Holding Company.”
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On July 3, 2024, the Company and Noventiq Holdings plc entered into a Settlement and Termination Agreement, pursuant to which the Business Combination Agreement was mutually terminated. The termination was effected due to prevailing unfavorable market conditions and strategic considerations. As a result of the termination, all obligations under the Business Combination Agreement were released and deemed null and void. No termination fee or penalty was incurred by either party. The Company is continuing to evaluate alternative business combination opportunities.
Recent Developments
On December 18, 2023, the Company received a notice (the “Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) that the Company’s securities (units, shares and warrants) would be subject to suspension and delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market at the opening of business on December 27, 2023, due to the Company’s non-compliance with Nasdaq IM-5101-2, which requires that a special purpose acquisition company complete one or more business combinations within 36 months of the effectiveness of its IPO registration statement.
The Company timely requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to appeal the notice. Nasdaq granted the Company’s hearing request, which hearing request stayed the suspension of trading of the Company’s securities on The Nasdaq Capital Market until the hearing process concluded and the Nasdaq Hearings Panel issued a written decision. A hearing on the matter was held on March 14, 2024.
On March 15, 2024, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel issued written notice of its decision to grant the Company’s request for an exception to its listing deficiencies until June 17, 2024 in view of the Company’s substantial steps toward closing its previously announced initial business combination and its plan for achieving compliance with Nasdaq listing rules upon closing of the transaction for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.
On May 10, 2024, the Company received a second notice from Nasdaq notifying the Company that it no longer met the minimum 500,000 publicly held shares requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(4). The Company was given until June 24, 2024 to submit a plan to regain compliance.
On June 21, 2024, the Company received a determination letter from Nasdaq stating that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel had determined to delist the Company’s securities due to its continued non-compliance with Nasdaq IM-5101-2 and Rule 5550(a)(4). Nasdaq suspended trading of the Company’s securities effective at the open of business on August 14, 2024. The Company chose not to appeal the Panel’s final decision.
A Form 25-NSE was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in August 2024, formally removing the Company’s securities from listing and registration on Nasdaq. The delisting process is now complete.
The Company is also assessing alternative trading options, including over-the-counter (OTC) markets and potential future re-listings, in order to maximize shareholder value.
On February 29, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “February 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”), to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (i) extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from March 20, 2024 to June 30, 2024 (the “Extended Date”) or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its sole discretion (such proposal, the “February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal”). The shareholders of the Company approved the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal and the Company filed the articles amendment with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands.
In connection with the vote to approve the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem 83,349 Class A ordinary shares, resulting in redemption payments out of the trust account totaling $911,508, or approximately $10.94 per share which includes $78,018 of earnings in the trust account not previously withdrawn. Subsequent to the redemptions, 10,161,589 Class A ordinary shares remained issued and outstanding.
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On June 24, 2024, the Company held an Extraordinary General Meeting (the “ June 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”), and in connection therewith the Company will file with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands a copy of the special resolution of the Company which resolved to approve an amendment to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities from June 30, 2024 to July 31, 2024 (the “New Extended Date”), and to allow the Company, without another shareholder vote, by resolution of the Company’s Board of Directors to determine in their sole discretion to extend the New Extended Date by one-month increments up to three consecutive times to a date that is ultimately no later than October 31, 2024 (each such additional date, as extended, an “Additional Extended Date”), unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors to be in the best interests of the Company or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion.
In connection with the vote to approve the extension, the holders of 38,647 Class A ordinary shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.10 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of approximately $428,962. After the satisfaction of such redemptions, the balance in the Company’s trust account will be approximately $3.3 million.
On August 15, 2024, the Company, CGA Sponsor, LLC (the “Original Sponsor”), Ringwood Field, LLC (the “New Sponsor”), and Alexandre Balkanski, John Mulkey, and Jason Park entered into a share purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, among other things: (a) the Original Sponsor transferred to the New Sponsor an aggregate of 5,895,000 Class A Ordinary Shares of the Company; (b) the New Sponsor executed a joinder agreement (the “Joinder”) to become a party to that certain letter agreement, dated December 16, 2020 (“Letter Agreement”), and that certain Registration Rights Agreement, dated December 16, 2020 (“Registration Rights Agreement”), each originally entered into in connection with the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”), among the Company, the Original Sponsor, and certain equity holders of the Company; (c) the Original Sponsor and holders of Class B Shares granted the New Sponsor the irrevocable right to vote the retained shares on their behalf and to take certain other actions on their behalf (the “POA Agreements”); (d) the Original Sponsor entered into surrender and cancellation agreements (the “Warrant Cancellation Agreements”) to cancel an aggregate of 7,600,000 private placement warrants purchased by the Original Sponsor at the time of the IPO; and (e) certain creditors agreed to cancel or reduce the amounts owed to them by the Company and assigned the liability for any remaining amounts to the Original Sponsor (the “Debt Cancellation Agreements”). Additionally, the Company, the Original Sponsor, the New Sponsor, and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as the underwriter of the IPO, entered into an agreement (the “Underwriter Agreements”) whereby Cantor agreed to accept shares of the Company following any business combination in lieu of cash deferred commissions owed from the IPO.
On October 31, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “October 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”) to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from October 31, 2024, to December 31, 2025, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion (such proposal, the “October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal” and, together with previous extension proposals, the “Extension Proposals”). The shareholders of the Company approved the October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal.
In connection with the vote to approve the extension, the holders of 124,289 Class A ordinary shares properly exercised their right to redeem their shares for cash at a redemption price of approximately $11.26 per share, for an aggregate redemption amount of $1,399,974. The amount in the company’s trust account as of December 31,2024 is $1,967,696.
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Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $0 in its operating bank accounts, $1,967,696 in the Trust Account , subject to possible redemptions, to be used for a Business Combination or to repurchase or redeem its ordinary shares in connection therewith and a working capital deficit of $30,172.
Until the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination. Based on its current cash and working capital balances, management believes that the Company will not have sufficient working capital to meet its needs through the consummation of a Business Combination.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with the intended Business Combination, the Sponsor, 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 required. As of August 15, 2024, in connection with the sale of the Original Sponsor’s stake to the New Sponsor, the Company’s outstanding liabilities amounting to $5,457,840 were transferred to the Original Sponsor. This included $5,177,840 of operating and formation costs and $280,000 of unpaid administrative fees.
As a result of the transaction, the Company had no outstanding liabilities to the former Sponsor as of December 31, 2024, with all debts effectively settled upon the transfer.
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB ASC Subtopic 205-40, “Presentation of Financial Statements—Going Concern” management has determined that the date for mandatory liquidation and dissolution raises substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, which is considered one year from the issuance of the financial statements included herein. The Company demonstrates adverse conditions that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year following the issuance of the financial statements included herein. These adverse conditions are negative financial trends, specifically a working capital deficiency and other adverse key financial ratios. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after December 31, 2025, our scheduled liquidation date if we do not complete the initial business combination prior to such date.
Critical Accounting Policies
Class A Ordinary Shares subject to possible redemption
We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in FASB ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”). Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable Class A ordinary shares (including Class A ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, Class A ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2024 and 2023, 173,653 and 419,938 Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption at the redemption amount are presented as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet, respectively.
Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we recognized the accretion from initial carrying value to redemption amount. The change in the carrying value of redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit. During 2023, there were payments to Class A ordinary shareholders subject to possible redemption in the amount of $11,347,734. The fair value Class A ordinary shareholders subject to possible redemption was increased by $411,744 from earnings and realized gain on marketable securities held in trust account.
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During 2024, there were payments to Class A ordinary shareholders subject to possible redemption in the amount of $2,740,444. The fair value of Class A ordinary shareholders subject to possible redemption was increased by $154,623 from earnings and realized gain on marketable securities held in trust account.
Warrant Liabilities
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 480 and ASC 815. The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, 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 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 statements of operations.
Results of Operations
All activity during the year ended December 31, 2024, was for a search for initial business combination candidates. As of December 31, 2024, $0 was held outside the trust account and was being used to fund the company’s operating expenses. We are not generating any operating revenues until the closing and completion of our initial business combination.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, we had a net loss of $321,576, which consisted of $1,988,751 in general and administrative costs, $785,352 of debt forgiveness income resulting from the Sponsor’s assumption and cancellation of liabilities as part of the sponsor transition agreement, and change in the fair value of warrant liabilities of $727,199, offset by $154,623 in earnings and realized gains on marketable securities held in the trust account.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had a net loss of $3,489,963, which consisted of $3,129,841 in general and administrative costs, $102,000 in transaction costs, and a change in the fair value of warrant liabilities of $669,866, offset by $411,744 in earnings and realized gains on marketable securities held in the trust account.
The decrease in general and administrative costs in 2024 is primarily due to a reduction in transaction-related costs and extensions, with a significant portion of prior-period liabilities forgiven as part of the sponsor transition.
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Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On October 28, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain offering costs on our behalf in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. In November 2020, our sponsor transferred 50,000 Class B ordinary shares to each of our independent directors. On December 16, 2020, we effected a share capitalization of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 10,062,500 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. Up to 1,312,500 of the Class B ordinary shares outstanding were subject to forfeiture by our sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment in connection with the Initial Public Offering was not exercised in full or in part. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option, the sponsor forfeited 62,500 Class B ordinary shares for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 10,000,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2022. On June 21, 2023, in connection with the approval of the Founder Conversion Amendment, our sponsor, the holder of an aggregate of 9,825,001 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, elected to convert 9,825,000 shares of the Class B ordinary shares held by it on a one-for-one basis into Class A ordinary shares of the Company, with immediate effect. Following such conversion, the Sponsor holds 9,825,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares and 1 share of Class B ordinary shares and the Company will have an aggregate of 10,244,938 shares of Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding (419,938 of which are subject to possible redemption) and 175,000 shares of Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. In connection with the conversion, the sponsor has agreed to certain transfer restrictions, a waiver of redemption rights, a waiver of any right to receive funds from the trust account and the obligation to vote in favor of an initial business combination. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the sponsor, the company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
The initial shareholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of the initial business combination or (B) subsequent to the initial business combination, (x) if the last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,600,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant for an aggregate purchase price of $11,400,000. Each warrant was exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share. However, in connection with the transfer of the Sponsor’s stake to the New Sponsor on August 15, 2024, the Private Placement Warrants were cancelled, and as a result, no further obligations or rights exist with respect to these warrants.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors had previously agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign, or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.
Related Party Loans
On October 28, 2020, the sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Initial Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of June 30, 2021 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. On October 27, 2020 and December 17, 2020, the Company borrowed $115,000 and $55,000, respectively, under the Note. On December 22, 2020, the Company repaid the Note in full. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had no outstanding balance under the Note.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a 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 (“Working Capital Loans”). If we complete a business combination, we would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination is not completed, we may use a portion of the proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. 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. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were no outstanding Working Capital Loans under this arrangement.
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As of December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, the Sponsor and its affiliates had paid operating and formation costs of $2,101,264 and $1,630,848, respectively, on behalf of the Company. These amounts were initially recorded as liabilities owed to the Sponsor and included in “Due to Related Party” on the balance sheets. However, in connection with the transfer of the Original Sponsor’s stake to the New Sponsor on August 15, 2024, all outstanding liabilities were assumed by the Original Sponsor and subsequently discharged. As a result, no amounts remained payable to the Original Sponsor as of December 31, 2024. As of that date, the New Sponsor had paid operating and formation costs of $24,849, which remained outstanding.
Administrative Support Agreement
We agreed, commencing on the effective date of the Initial Public Offering through the earlier of the company’s consummation of a business combination and its liquidation, to pay our sponsor a total of $40,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. We incurred $0 fees for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
On November 18, 2021, the Sponsor permanently waived its right to receive any of the Company’s outstanding, and all of the Company’s remaining, payment obligations under the administrative services agreement.
Contractual Obligations
Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, are entitled to registration rights (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion of such shares into Class A ordinary shares) pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement entered into upon consummation of the Initial Public Offering. These holders are entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration and shareholder rights. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that we may not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the termination of the applicable lock-up period for the securities to be registered. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
We granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the final prospectus relating to the Initial Public Offering to purchase up to 5,250,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at $10.00 per Unit, less underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters partially exercised their option and purchased an additional 5,000,000 Units.
The underwriters were entitled to underwriting discounts of $0.20 per Unit, or $8,000,000 in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering. An additional fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $14,000,000 in the aggregate was payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions. Effective December 20, 2022, in accordance with a fee reduction agreement, the underwriter agreed to irrevocably forfeit $10,000,000 of the aggregate $14,000,000 deferred fee that would otherwise be payable to it in cash pursuant the underwriting agreement, resulting in a reduced deferred fee of $4,000,000. The deferred underwriting commissions will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. The Company accounted for this forfeiture during the fourth calendar quarter of the year ended December 31, 2022.
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On June 23, 2023, the Company and the underwriter agreed to terminate the December 20, 2022 fee reduction agreement solely upon execution of a side letter in accordance with the duly executed Mutual Termination of Initial Fee Reduction Agreement. On June 23, 2023, in accordance with the duly executed Side Letter to Underwriting Agreement, the Company and the underwriter agreed to the following:
1. | Cantor will irrevocably forfeit $7,000,000 (instead of $10,000,000) of the aggregate $14,000,000 Original Fee that would otherwise be payable to it in cash pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, resulting in a reduced fee of $7,000,000 (the “Fee”), which shall be payable in cash by the Company to Cantor upon consummation of a Business Combination, as originally set forth in the Underwriting Agreement. |
|
|
2. | In addition, upon the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company shall pay to the Underwriter a non-refundable cash fee equal to 3.0% of: |
|
|
● | (x) the aggregate maximum gross proceeds received or receivable in connection with any Equity Financing, including, without limitation, aggregate amounts committed by investors to purchase securities, whether or not all securities are issued upon consummation of the Business Combination, plus |
● | (y) the gross proceeds received by the Company upon exercise of any warrants or other securities issued in connection with such Financing that are convertible into common stock of the Company; |
● | the aggregate maximum principal amount of debt committed or available to be committed or available in connection with the Debt Financing (including, without limitation, in the case of an offering of debt securities, the aggregate maximum principal amount of securities committed to be purchased by investors), whether or not drawn down (or, in the case of an offering of debt securities, whether or not purchased) upon consummation of the business Combination; and |
● | any proceeds received from the Trust Account in connection with the Business Combination. |
The fees noted in items 1, 2 and additional notes above are contingent upon the successful completion of a Business Combination. There is no assurance that a Business Combination will be consummated by any such date of termination approved in accordance with the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. In accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 450, Contingencies, the Company is required to record its best estimate of the loss if the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The fee noted in item 2 cannot be reasonably estimated or determinable at this time and as a result, is not recorded in the financial statements.
However, on August 15, 2024, as part of the change in sponsor in connection with the share purchase agreement, the Company, the Original Sponsor, the New Sponsor, and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as the underwriter from the IPO, entered into an agreement under which Cantor agreed to accept a certain number of shares of the Company following the completion of a Business Combination, in lieu of the cash deferred commissions owed from the IPO.
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
We have two classes of shares: Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the periods. We have not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 20,933,333, of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares in the calculation of diluted net income (loss) per share, because their exercise is contingent upon future events and their inclusion would be anti-dilutive under the treasury stock method. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per share is the same as basic net income (loss) per share for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. Accretion associated with the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
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Finder’s Fee Arrangement
In connection with the Proposed Business Combination, a portion of the founder shares will be distributed under an agreement with a third party dated as of April 28, 2023 that constitutes a finder’s fee arrangement (the “Finder’s Fee Arrangement”). The Finder’s Fee Arrangement provides for our sponsor to make a $2,000,000 cash payment to the third party and provide an option to purchase an economic interest in 2,000,000 membership units of the sponsor contingent on the consummation of the Proposed Business Combination, which are accounted for under the guidance in ASC 718. Under ASC 718, stock-based compensation associated with equity-classified awards is measured at fair value upon the grant date. Compensation expense related to such shares is recognized only when the performance-based vesting condition (i.e. the consummation of the Proposed Business Combination) is probable of achievement under the applicable accounting literature. Stock-based compensation would be recognized at the consummation of the Proposed Business Combination, in an amount equal to the number of such shares times the grant date fair value per share (unless subsequently modified) less the amount initially received for the transfer of such shares. The Company will reflect the transactions in its financial statements when the Proposed Business Combination is consummated as the sponsor is a principal shareholder in the Company and the Company benefits from the Finder’s Fee Arrangement. If the Proposed Business Combination does not close for any reason, and a termination fee is actually paid by Noventiq to the Company, the Sponsor or their affiliates, then the third party will be entitled to receive a $2,000,000 cash payment. Not withstanding the foregoing, to the extent the termination fee is not sufficient to cover the $2,000,000 cash payment, then the Sponsor and the third party will share the balance in an amount to be reasonably agreed to at the time.
On March 14, 2024, the Finder’s fee Arrangement was amended and restated which no longer provides the third party an option to purchase an economic interest in 2,000,000 membership units of the sponsor contingent on the consummation of the Proposed Business Combination. Instead, the parties have agreed that once the Sponsor has received ordinary shares from a successfully completed transaction and any earnouts or other contingent releases thereto, it shall distribute shares to the third party in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Sponsor operating agreement and the Amended and Restated Business Combination Agreement. In addition, the $2,000,000 cash payment to third party will be paid by Noventiq instead of the Sponsor and will be denominated as a Company transaction expense. In the event the Proposed Business Combination is not consummated and the Sponsor receives a termination fee, the third party shall receive $1,000,000 as complete satisfaction of the cash payment. The Finder’s Fee Arrangement included potential compensation payable to the third party.
As the Proposed Business Combination was terminated on July 3, 2024, the Company does not expect to recognize compensation expense associated with this arrangement. Further, No termination fee was received in connection with the termination of the Business Combination Agreement.
ADS Facility, Sponsor Support Agreement, and Voting and Support Agreement
The following descriptions relate to agreements that were entered into in connection with the now-terminated Business Combination Agreement with Noventiq Holdings plc. On July 3, 2024, the Company and Noventiq mutually agreed to terminate the Business Combination Agreement. As a result, all related agreements described below are no longer in effect. See Note 1 — Financial Statements.
In connection with the Proposed Business Combination and pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement, the Company had agreed to establish a Level 2 ADS facility by entering into a Deposit Agreement with The Bank of New York Mellon (or an affiliate), as depositary, and filing with the SEC a registration statement on Form F-6 registering American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”), each representing one Parent ordinary share (the “ADS Facility”).
Following the Closing, each holder of Parent ordinary shares would have been able to deposit such holder’s shares into the ADS Facility and receive ADSs, which were expected to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol “NVIQ.” Following the Closing, the Company’s outstanding warrants, issued under a Warrant Agreement, dated December 16, 2020, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, would have remained outstanding and were expected to continue trading on Nasdaq. In connection with the Closing, the ADSs, each representing one Parent ordinary share, were expected to be listed on Nasdaq as of the Effective Time.
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Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, our sponsor entered into a support agreement with the Company and Noventiq (the “Sponsor Support Agreement”), pursuant to which the sponsor agreed to, among other things, (i) vote in favor of the Business Combination Agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby; (ii) not to solicit, initiate, submit, facilitate (including by means of furnishing or disclosing information), discuss or negotiate, directly or indirectly, any inquiry, proposal or offer (written or oral) with any third-party with respect to a CGAC Acquisition Proposal (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement); (iii) be bound by certain transfer restrictions with respect to its shares in the Company prior to the closing of the Proposed Business Combination; and (iv) not to transfer any of the Restricted Securities (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement) from and after the closing of the Proposed Transactions and until the earlier of (A) the six (6) month anniversary of the closing date of the Proposed Transactions and (B) the date following the closing date of the Proposed Transactions on which the Company completes a Liquidity Event (as defined in the Sponsor Support Agreement).
Concurrently with the execution of the Business Combination Agreement, the Company, Noventiq and certain shareholders of Noventiq (collectively, the “Noventiq Supporting Shareholders”) executed a Voting and Support Agreement, pursuant to which each Noventiq Supporting Shareholder agreed to, among other things, (i) support the Business Combination and adopt the Business Combination Agreement, and (ii) lock up their Noventiq Shares for a period following the closing, subject to certain exceptions.
The Business Combination Agreement also contemplated that, prior to the Closing, the Company, the Sponsor Parties and certain Noventiq shareholders would enter into a Registration Rights Agreement, which would grant such parties registration rights with respect to their respective Parent ordinary shares.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2024, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations.
JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As such, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the principal executive officer’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
This information appears following Item 16 of this Report.
Index To Financial Statements
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9a. Controls and Procedures
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Our management evaluated, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2024, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2023, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective, because of a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Specifically, the Company’s management has concluded that the controls around the interpretation and accounting for certain complex instruments were not effectively designed or maintained.
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We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in the Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of these inherent limitations, management does not expect that our internal control over financial reporting will prevent all error and all fraud. Management conducted an evaluation of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2024, based on the framework in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued in 2013 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the “2013 Framework”). Based on our evaluation under the 2013 Framework, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2024.
Our management has concluded that the internal control procedures around the interpretation and accounting for certain complex financial instruments were not effectively designed or maintained. Furthermore, management identified a material weakness in its internal control over financial reporting due to a lack of effective controls related to the recording and disclosure of accrued and contingent liabilities and their related expenses. In addition, the Company’s management has concluded that the controls around the communication by executive management of all material agreements were not effectively designed or maintained. To respond to these material weaknesses, we have devoted, and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for certain complex financial instruments. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements, research materials and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable procedures to accrue and record liabilities, we plan to enhance these processes by increasing the communication between executive management and those responsible for accounting and reporting of all executed agreements that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include increased communication among our executive management and accounting personnel through conducting on-site meetings, virtual meetings the execution of meeting minutes and completion of procedural checklists. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There was no change in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period ended December 31, 2024 covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting except for the below:
Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for certain complex features of the Class A ordinary shares and warrants. The Company’s management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements, research materials and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.
Item 9B. Other Information
During the quarter ended December 31, 2024, no director or officer adopted or terminated any (i) “Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K intending to satisfy the affirmative defense conditions of Rule 10b5–1(c) or (ii) “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement,” as defined in Item 408(a) of Regulation S-K; and (ii) there was no information that was required to be disclosed on a Current Report on Form 8-K during such quarter that was not so disclosed.
Item 9C. Disclosures Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
Not Applicable.
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Part III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Directors and Executive Officers
As of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our directors and officers are as follows:
Name |
| Age |
| Position |
Xixuan Hei |
| 31 |
| Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director |
Xixuan Hei, has served as our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and director since August 2024. Ms. Hei has a strong background in finance, digital innovation, and legal-tech solutions. Ms. Hei is the founder of Herr Gallery, a WebVR NFT platform that drives innovation in virtual spaces and digital art, which she founded in August 2021. Ms. Hei is a CFA Level III candidate and holds a Master of Science in Finance from Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science in Business Intelligence & Analytics from Stevens Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Economics in International Economy & Trade from North China University of Technology.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
The Company is not an issuer whose securities are listed on a national securities exchange or an inter-dealer quotation system that has requirements that a majority of the board be independent. We evaluate independence by the standards for director independence set forth in the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. The board has determined that none of its members are currently “independent” as defined in Section 4200(a)(15) of Nasdaq Stock Market Rules.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a nominating committee and a compensation committee. However, because our securities have been delisted from Nasdaq, such committees are currently not comprised of any members and we do not intend to populate such committees until we look to have our securities listed again in connection with consummating an initial business combination..
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon written request to our principal executive offices. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The Code of Ethics is included as an Exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| · | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the company as a whole; |
| · | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| · | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| · | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| · | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the company and their personal interests; and |
| · | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
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, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who attend and vote at a general meeting of the company, unless applicable law or applicable stock exchange rules require a different vote, in which case we will complete our initial business combination only if such requisite vote is received. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.
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, willful neglect, civil 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 entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We expect to purchase 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.
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 (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 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.
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Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act requires our named executive officers and directors and persons who own more than 10% of a registered class of our equity securities to file with the SEC initial statements of beneficial ownership, reports of changes in ownership and annual reports concerning their ownership in our ordinary shares and other equity securities, on Form 3, 4 and 5 respectively. Named executive officers, directors and greater than 10% shareholders are required by the SEC regulations to furnish our company with copies of all Section 16(a) reports they file.
To the Company’s knowledge, based solely on a review of reports furnished to it and review of the Section 16 reports (Forms 3, 4 and 5 and any amendments to those forms) filed during (or with respect to) the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, all of the Company’s officers, directors and ten percent holders have timely made the required filings.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. In connection with the appointment of Xixuan Hei as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company, the Purchaser anticipates transferring to her 75,000 Class A Ordinary Shares upon consummation of an initial business combination.
No compensation or fees of any kind will be paid to our initial shareholders, members of our management team or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, they will receive reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with activities on our behalf, such as identifying potential target businesses, performing business due diligence on suitable target businesses and business combinations as well as traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses to examine their operations. To the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination.
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 shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials furnished to our shareholders. However, the amount of such compensation may not be known at the time of the general meeting held to consider an initial business combination, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation. In this event, such compensation will be publicly disclosed at the time of its determination in a Current Report on Form 8-K or a periodic report, as required by the SEC.
Since our formation, we have not granted any stock options or stock appreciation rights or any other awards under long-term incentive plans to any of our executive officers or directors.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of July 1, 2025 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares, by:
| · | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding ordinary shares; |
| · | each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns our ordinary share; and |
| · | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
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Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 9,998,653 Class A ordinary shares (which includes Class A ordinary shares that are underlying the units) and 175,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding as of July 1, 2025. Voting power represents the combined voting power of Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares owned beneficially by such person. All of the Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, as described herein. The table below does not include the Class A ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
|
| Class B Ordinary Shares |
|
| Class A Ordinary Shares |
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||
Name of Beneficial Owner(1) |
| Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
|
| Approximate Percentage of Class |
|
| Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
|
| Approximate Percentage of Class |
|
| Approximate Percentage of Voting Control |
| ||||||||||
CGA Sponsor, LLC (“old sponsor”)(2)(3) |
|
| 1 |
|
| * |
|
|
| 3,930,000 |
|
|
| 38.8 | % |
|
| 38.2 | % | ||||||
Ringwood Field, LLC (“new sponsor”)(4) |
|
| 174,999 |
|
|
| 99.9 | % |
|
| 9,825,000 |
|
|
| 97.1 | % |
|
| 97.1 | % | |||||
Alexandre Balkanski (2) |
|
| 58,333 |
|
|
| 33.3 | % |
|
| - |
|
|
| - |
|
| * |
| ||||||
John Mulkey (2) |
|
| 58,333 |
|
|
| 33.3 | % |
|
| - |
|
|
| - |
|
| * |
| ||||||
Jason Park (2) |
|
| 58,333 |
|
|
| 33.3 | % |
|
| - |
|
|
| - |
|
| * |
| ||||||
Executive officers and directors |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Xixuan Hei |
|
| - |
|
| - |
|
|
| 75,000 |
|
|
| * |
|
| * | ||||||||
All officers and directors as a group (1 individual) |
|
| - |
|
| - |
|
|
| 75,000 |
|
|
| * |
|
| * | ||||||||
* Less than one percent.
(1) Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 418 Broadway, #6183, Albany, New York 12207.
(2) The Class B Ordinary Shares represented will automatically convert into Class A Ordinary Shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof pursuant to the terms of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of incorporation.
(3) The shares reported above are held in the name of the old sponsor. The old sponsor is controlled by John Cadeddu and Marvin Tien.
(4) Interests shown consist of (i) 5,895,000 Class A Ordinary Shares, (ii) 3,930,000 Class A Ordinary Shares owned by the IPO Sponsor, over which the new sponsor has voting and dispositive power pursuant to a power of attorney, and (iii) an aggregate of 174,999 Class B Ordinary Shares owned by Alexandre Balkanski (58,333 shares), John Mulkey (58,333 shares) and Jason Park (58,333 shares), over which the new sponsor has voting and dispositive power pursuant to a power of attorney.
Equity Compensation Plans
As of December 31, 2024, we had no compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities of the registrant were authorized for issuance.
| 65 |
| Table of Contents |
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
On October 28, 2020, the old sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain offering costs on our behalf in consideration of 8,625,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. In November 2020, the old sponsor transferred 50,000 Class B ordinary shares to each of our independent directors. On December 16, 2020, we effected a share capitalization of 1,437,500 Class B ordinary shares, resulting in an aggregate of 10,062,500 Class B ordinary shares outstanding. Up to 1,312,500 of the Class B ordinary shares outstanding were subject to forfeiture by the old sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment in connection with the Initial Public Offering was not exercised in full or in part. As a result of the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option, the old sponsor forfeited 62,500 Class B ordinary shares for no consideration, resulting in an aggregate of 10,000,000 Class B ordinary shares outstanding as of December 31, 2022. On June 21, 2023, in connection with the approval of the Founder Conversion Amendment, the old sponsor, the holder of an aggregate of 9,825,001 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, elected to convert 9,825,000 shares of the Class B ordinary shares held by it on a one-for-one basis into Class A ordinary shares of the Company, with immediate effect. In connection with the conversion, the old sponsor has agreed to certain transfer restrictions, a waiver of redemption rights, a waiver of any right to receive funds from the trust account and the obligation to vote in favor of an initial business combination. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by the old sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the Company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
Our old sponsor purchased an aggregate of 7,600,000 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant, valued at $11,400,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement that occurred simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering. Each private placement warrant entitled the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The old sponsor subsequently agreed to cancel such warrants.
If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any 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 opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
We currently maintain our executive offices at 418 Broadway, #6183 Albany, NY 12207, which space is provided to us by our new sponsor for no cost.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. 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 reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
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. If we complete an initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. 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 warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team 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. As of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, no working capital loans were outstanding.
| 66 |
| Table of Contents |
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 tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, 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 materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We entered into a registration and shareholder rights agreement pursuant to which our sponsor is entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, and, upon consummation of our initial business combination, to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors adopted a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee is provided with the details of each new, existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
Director Independence
The Company is not an issuer whose securities are listed on a national securities exchange or an inter-dealer quotation system that has requirements that a majority of the board be independent. We evaluate independence by the standards for director independence set forth in the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. The board has determined that none of its members are currently “independent” as defined in Section 4200(a)(15) of Nasdaq Stock Market Rules.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The following is a summary of fees paid to Bush & Associates CPA LLC, our independent registered public accounting firm for services rendered in the latter part of 2024, and Marcum LLP (“Marcum”), our previous independent registered public accounting firm, for services rendered during 2023 and through June 2024.
Audit Fees:
Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Bush & Associates CPA LLC or Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our financial statements and other required filings with the SEC totalled approximately $188,450 for the year ended December 31, 2024 (comprising $154,450 billed by Marcum for services through June 2024, and $34,000 billed by Bush & Associates CPA LLC for services related to the 2024 audit, which are yet to be paid), and approximately $221,000 for the year ended December 31, 2023, billed by Marcum. The preceding amounts include fees related to interim review procedures, audit services, and attendance at audit committee meetings.
| 67 |
| Table of Contents |
Audit-Related Fees:
Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we did not pay Bush & Associates CPA LLC or Marcum for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards, respectively.
Tax Fees:
We did not pay Bush & Associates CPA LLC or Marcum for tax planning and tax advice for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
All Other Fees:
We did not pay Bush & Associates CPA LLC or Marcum for other services for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Our independent registered public accounting firm is Bush & Associates CPA LLC.
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).
| 68 |
| Table of Contents |
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
(a) The following documents are filed as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:
(1) Financial Statements
(1) Financial Statements:
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
All schedules are omitted for the reason that the information is included in the financial statements or the notes thereto or that they are not required or are not applicable.
| 69 |
| Table of Contents |
(3) Exhibits
We hereby file as part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index.
Exhibit No. |
| Description |
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|
|
|
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| 70 |
| Table of Contents |
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
101.INS |
| Inline XBRL Instance Document* |
101.SCH |
| Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema* |
101.CAL |
| Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase* |
101.DEF |
| Inline Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase* |
101.LAB |
| Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase* |
101.PRE |
| Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase* |
104 |
| Cover page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)* |
* | Filed herewith |
** | Furnished herewith |
† | Certain of the exhibits and schedules to this exhibit have been omitted in accordance with Regulation S-K Item 601(b)(2). The Registrant agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of all omitted exhibits and schedules to the SEC upon its request. |
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
| 71 |
| Table of Contents |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Annual Report on Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
July 8, 2025
| CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP. |
| |
|
| ||
| /s/ Xixuan Hei |
| |
| Name: | Xixuan Hei |
|
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer) |
|
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Annual Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name |
| Position |
| Date |
/s/ Xixuan Hei |
| Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Director |
| July 8, 2025 |
Xixuan Hei |
| (Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer) |
| |
| 72 |
| Table of Contents |
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
| F-1 |
| Table of Contents |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholder and the Board of Directors of
Corner Growth Acquisition Corp.
418 Broadway #6183
Albany, NY 12207
OPINION ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the related statements of operations and changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, 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 Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
SUBSTANTIAL DOUBT ABOUT THE COMPANY’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE AS A GOING CONCERN
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As disclosed in Note 1 of the financial statements, the Company has suffered substantial net losses and negative cash flows from operations in recent years and is dependent on debt and equity financing to fund its operations, all of which raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are disclosed in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
BASIS FOR OPINION
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our 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 audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the 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 audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgements. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
/s/ Bush & Associates CPA LLC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2025.
Henderson, Nevada
July 8, 2025
PCAOB ID Number 6797
179 N. Gibson Road, Henderson, Nevada 89014 · 702.703.5979 · www.bushandassociatescpas.com |
| F-2 |
| Table of Contents |
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholder and the Board of Directors of
Corner Growth Acquisition Corp.
418 Broadway #6183
Albany, NY 12207
OPINION ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the related statements of operations and changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, 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 Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
SUBSTANTIAL DOUBT ABOUT THE COMPANY’S ABILITY TO CONTINUE AS A GOING CONCERN
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As disclosed in Note 1 of the financial statements, the Company has suffered substantial net losses and negative cash flows from operations in recent years and is dependent on debt and equity financing to fund its operations, all of which raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans regarding these matters are disclosed in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
BASIS FOR OPINION
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our 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 audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the 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 audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
Critical audit matters are matters arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgements. We determined that there are no critical audit matters.
/s/
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2025.
July 8, 2025
PCAOB ID Number
179 N. Gibson Road, Henderson, Nevada 89014 · 702.703.5979 · www.bushandassociatescpas.com
| F-3 |
| Table of Contents |
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
|
| As of |
|
| As of |
| ||
|
| December 31, |
|
| December 31, |
| ||
| 2024 |
| 2023 |
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
ASSETS |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Current assets |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Cash |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
Prepaid expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Total current assets |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Total Assets |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
LIABILITIES, CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Due to related party |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
Due to shareholders |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Accrued expenses |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Total current liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Warrant liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Deferred underwriting fee payable |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Total Liabilities |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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, CLASS A ORDINARY SHARES SUBJECT TO POSSIBLE REDEMPTION AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| F-4 |
| Table of Contents |
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
|
| For the |
|
| For the |
| ||
|
| year ended |
|
| year ended |
| ||
|
| December 31, |
|
| December 31, |
| ||
|
| 2024 |
|
| 2023 |
| ||
Operating and formation costs |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
Loss from operations |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Other income (loss) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings and realized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Transaction costs |
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) | |
Debt forgiveness |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) | |
Net income (loss) |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding of Class A redeemable ordinary shares |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per Class A redeemable ordinary share |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding of Class A nonredeemable ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per Class A nonredeemable ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| F-5 |
| Table of Contents |
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
|
| Class A |
|
| Class B |
|
| Additional |
|
|
|
|
| Total |
| |||||||||||||
|
| Ordinary Shares |
|
| Ordinary Shares |
|
| Paid- |
|
| Accumulated |
|
| Shareholders’ |
| |||||||||||||
|
| Shares |
|
| Amount |
|
| Shares |
|
| Amount |
|
| in Capital |
|
| Deficit |
|
| Deficit |
| |||||||
Balance, January 1, 2023 |
|
| - |
|
| $ |
|
|
|
|
| $ |
|
| $ |
|
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) | ||||
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) | |||
Conversion of Class B ordinary shares to Class A nonredeemable ordinary shares |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Remeasurement of deferred underwriting fee payable |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) | |||
Transaction cost allocation for change in deferred underwriting fee |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Net loss |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) | |||
Balance, December 31, 2023 |
|
|
|
| $ |
|
|
|
|
| $ |
|
| $ |
|
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) | |||||
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) | |||
Cancellation of Private Warrants |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Forgiveness of due to related party balance |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Waiver of deferred underwriting commissions by underwriter |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |||||
Net Profit |
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
| - |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) | |||
Balance, December 31, 2024 |
|
|
|
| $ |
|
|
|
|
| $ |
|
| $ |
|
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) | |||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| F-6 |
| Table of Contents |
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
|
| For the |
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| For the |
| ||
|
| year ended |
|
| year ended |
| ||
|
| December 31, |
|
| December 31, |
| ||
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| 2024 |
|
| 2023 |
| ||
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|
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|
| ||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities |
|
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|
|
| ||
Net income (loss) |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings and realized gain on marketable securities held in Trust Account |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
|
| ( | ) |
|
|
| |
Transaction costs attributable to warrant liabilities |
|
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|
| ||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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|
Accrued expenses |
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|
| ||
Due to related party |
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|
| ||
Prepaid expenses |
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| ||
Net cash used in operating activities |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Cash Flows from Investing Activities |
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|
Proceeds received from Trust Account |
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| ||
Net cash provided by investing activities |
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| ||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments to Class A ordinary shareholders for redemption of shares |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Net cash used in financing activities |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Net change in cash |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Cash at beginning of the period |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Cash at end of the period |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
Non-cash financing activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remeasurement of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ |
| |
Accrual of deferred underwriting fee payable |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Forfeiture of deferred underwriting fee payable |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Cancellation of private warrants |
|
| ( | ) |
|
|
| |
Conversion of Class B ordinary shares to Class A nonredeemable ordinary shares |
|
|
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|
|
| ||
Forgiveness of due to related parties |
|
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|
| ||
Operating expense liability assumed by related party |
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|
|
|
|
| ||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
| F-7 |
| Table of Contents |
CORNER GROWTH ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Note 1—Description of Organization, Business Operations and Basis of Presentation
Corner Growth Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”), was incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on
Although the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus on businesses in the technology industries primarily located in the United States. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the year ended December 31, 2024 relates to the Company’s formation, its initial public offering described below (the “Initial Public Offering”) and, since the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the search for initial Business Combination candidates, and since the signing of the Business Combination Agreement described below, the completion of this proposed transaction. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering and will recognize changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities as other income (loss). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s original sponsor is CGA Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Original Sponsor”).
The registration statements for the Company’s Initial Public Offering were declared effective on December 16, 2020. On December 21, 2020, 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 December 21, 2020, an amount of $
| F-8 |
| Table of Contents |
As more fully described in Note 5, on June 23, 2023, the Company and the underwriter agreed to terminate the December 20,2022 fee reduction agreement solely upon execution of a side letter. On June 23, 2023, in accordance with the duly executed side letter, the Company and the underwriter agreed that the underwriter will irrevocably forfeit $
The Company will provide holders (the “Public Shareholders”) of its Class A ordinary shares, par value $
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the 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 in 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
Extraordinary General Meetings
On December 20, 2022, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting (the “December 2022 Extraordinary General Meeting”), which amended the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a Business Combination from December 21, 2022 to June 21, 2023 (the “December 2022 Extension Amendment Proposal”). The shareholders approved the December 2022 Extension Amendment Proposal and on December 28, 2022 the Company filed the articles amendment with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands. The shareholders approved a proposal to amend the trust agreement to change the date on which Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company must commence liquidation of the Trust Account from (A) the earlier of the Company’s completion of an initial business combination and December 21, 2022 to (B) the earlier of the Company’s completion of an initial business combination and June 21, 2023. In connection with the December 2022 Extraordinary General Meeting, shareholders elected to redeem
| F-9 |
| Table of Contents |
On June 15, 2023, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, which was adjourned and reconvened on June 20, 2023 (the “June 2023 Extraordinary General Meeting”), to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (i) extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from June 21, 2023 to March 20, 2024 or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its sole discretion (such proposal, the “June 2023 Extension Amendment Proposal”), (ii) eliminate from the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association the limitation that the Company shall not redeem Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units sold in the Initial Public Offering to the extent that such redemption would cause the Company’s net tangible assets to be less than $
In connection with the vote to approve the June 2023 Extension Amendment Proposal, the Redemption Limitation Amendment Proposal and the Founder Conversion Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem 771,499 Class A ordinary shares, resulting in redemption payments out of the trust account totaling $8,085,078, or approximately $
On June 21, 2023, in connection with the approval of the Founder Conversion Amendment, our sponsor, the holder of an aggregate of
On February 29, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “February 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”), to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (i) extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from March 20, 2024 to June 30, 2024 (the “Extended Date”) or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s board of directors in its sole discretion (such proposal, the “February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal” and, together with the December 2022 Extension Amendment Proposal and the June 2023 Extension Amendment Proposal, the “Extension Proposals”). The shareholders of the Company approved the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal and the Company filed the articles amendment with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands.
In connection with the vote to approve the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem
On June 24, 2024, the Company held an Extraordinary General Meeting (the “ June 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”), and in connection therewith the Company will file with the Registrar of Companies of the Cayman Islands a copy of the special resolution of the Company which resolved to approve an amendment to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to extend the date by which the Company must consummate a merger, amalgamation, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities from June 30, 2024 to July 31, 2024 (the “New Extended Date”), and to allow the Company, without another shareholder vote, by resolution of the Company’s Board of Directors to determine in their sole discretion to extend the New Extended Date by one-month increments up to three consecutive times to a date that is ultimately no later than October 31, 2024 (each such additional date, as extended, an “Additional Extended Date”), unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto or such earlier date as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors to be in the best interests of the Company or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion.
| F-10 |
| Table of Contents |
In connection with the vote to approve the extension, the holders of
On August 15, 2024, the Company, CGA Sponsor, LLC (the “Original Sponsor”), Ringwood Field, LLC (the “New Sponsor”), and Alexandre Balkanski, John Mulkey, and Jason Park entered into a share purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, among other things: (a) the Original Sponsor transferred to the New Sponsor an aggregate of
On October 31, 2024, the Company held an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the “October 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting”) to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to extend the date by which the Company has to consummate a business combination from October 31, 2024, to December 31, 2025, unless the closing of a business combination shall have occurred prior thereto or such earlier date as shall be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors in its sole discretion (such proposal, the “October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal” and, together with previous extension proposals, the “Extension Proposals”). The shareholders of the Company approved the October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal.
In connection with the vote to approve the extension, the holders of
Nasdaq Notice and Hearing
On December 18, 2023, the Company received a notice (the “Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) that the Company’s securities (units, shares and warrants) would be subject to suspension and delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market at the opening of business on December 27, 2023, due to the Company’s non-compliance with Nasdaq IM-5101-2, which requires that a special purpose acquisition company complete one or more business combinations within 36 months of the effectiveness of its IPO registration statement. The Company timely requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to appeal the notice.
Nasdaq granted the Company’s hearing request, which hearing request stayed the suspension of trading of the Company’s securities on The Nasdaq Capital Market until the hearing process concluded and the Nasdaq Hearings Panel issued a written decision. A hearing on the matter was held on March 14, 2024.
On March 15, 2024, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel issued written notice of its decision to grant the Company’s request for an exception to its listing deficiencies until June 17, 2024 in view of the Company’s substantial steps toward closing its previously announced initial business combination and its plan for achieving compliance with Nasdaq listing rules upon closing of the transaction for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.
On May 10, 2024, the Company received a letter (the “Second Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq notifying the Company that the Company no longer meets the minimum
| F-11 |
| Table of Contents |
On June 21, 2024, the Company received a determination letter (the “Delisting Notification”) from Nasdaq stating that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel has determined to delist the Company’s securities from Nasdaq, due to the company’s non-compliance with Nasdaq’s IM-5101-2, which requires that a special purpose acquisition company complete one or more business combinations within 36 months of the effectiveness of its IPO registration statement. Nasdaq determined to remove from listing our securities, which became effective at the opening of business on June 25, 2024, because the Company did not demonstrate compliance with such continued listing requirement by June 17, 2024. Nasdaq will complete the delisting by filing a Form 25 Notification of Delisting with the SEC, after applicable appeal periods have lapsed, which will remove the Company’s securities from listing and registration on Nasdaq.
On August 13, 2024, the Company received a final delisting notice from Nasdaq, notifying the Company of its decision to delist the Company’s shares from the Nasdaq Stock Market. The delisting was due to violations of Nasdaq Listing Rule IM-5101-2, which requires a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to complete one or more business combinations within 36 months of its initial public offering (IPO), as well as the failure to meet the minimum requirement of
As a result, the Company’s shares were suspended from trading at the open of business on August 14, 2024. The Company chose not to appeal the Nasdaq Panel’s decision.
A Form 25-NSE was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which will formally remove the Company’s securities from listing and registration on Nasdaq. The Company is currently evaluating alternative options, including over-the-counter (OTC) trading and potential future re-listings, in order to maximize shareholder value.
Business Combination Agreement
The Company has entered into a Business Combination Agreement, dated May 4, 2023 (the “Original BCA Date”), as amended and restated on December 29, 2023 (the “Business Combination Agreement”), by and among the Company, Noventiq Holdings PLC, an exempted company limited by shares registered by way of continuation under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“Noventiq”), Noventiq Holding Company, an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“Parent”), Noventiq Merger 1 Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent that has elected to be disregarded as an entity separate from Parent for U.S. federal income tax purposes (“Company Merger Sub”), and Corner Growth SPAC Merger Sub, Inc., an exempted company limited by shares incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Noventiq Merger Sub”), which provides, among other things, that (i) the Company will merge with and into Company Merger Sub (the “Company Merger”), with Company Merger Sub surviving the Company Merger and (ii) Noventiq Merger Sub will merge with and into Noventiq (the “Noventiq Merger,” and together with the Company Merger, the “Mergers”), with Noventiq surviving the Noventiq Merger as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (the transactions contemplated by the foregoing clauses (i) and (ii) the “Business Combination,” and together with the other transactions contemplated by the Business Combination Agreement, the “Transactions”).
| F-12 |
| Table of Contents |
Immediately prior to the effective time of the Company Merger, each Company Class B ordinary share shall be converted into one Company Class A ordinary share. Pursuant to the Business Combination Agreement and at the effective time of the Company Merger, each Company Class A ordinary share shall automatically be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive one Parent ordinary share. At the effective time of the Company Merger, each Company warrant (the “Company Warrants”) issued and outstanding, entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Company Class A common stock at an exercise price of $
On April 18, 2024, the Company announced an offer to exchange certain global depositary receipts (“GDRs”) representing Noventiq ordinary shares in consideration for newly issued ordinary shares (the “Exchange Offer”), which Exchange Offer expired on May 10, 2024. To provide for the terms of the Exchange Offer, on May 13, 2024, the Company and Noventiq entered into Amendment No. 1 to Amended and Restated Business Combination Agreement (“Amendment No. 1 to A&R BCA”), by and between the Company and Noventiq. Amendment No. 1 to A&R BCA provides, among other things, that (i) the outstanding shares underlying the GDRs are to be excluded for purposes of determining the Per Share Merger Equity Consideration Value (as defined in the BCA) and (ii) Noventiq shall use commercially reasonable efforts to accept the forfeit and/or surrender and cancellation, as soon as reasonable practicable, of Noventiq’s outstanding shares underlying the GDRs that it acquired pursuant to the Exchange Offer. Each reference to the A&R BCA shall be deemed a reference to the A&R BCA, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to A&R BCA.
On July 3, 2024, the Company and Noventiq Holdings plc entered into a Settlement and Termination Agreement, pursuant to which the Amended and Restated Business Combination Agreement dated December 29, 2023, was mutually terminated. The termination was effected due to prevailing unfavorable market conditions and strategic considerations. As a result of the termination, all obligations under the Business Combination Agreement were released and deemed null and void. No termination fee or penalty was incurred by either party. The Company is continuing to evaluate alternative business combination opportunities.
On October 28, 2020, CGA Sponsor LLC (the “Original Sponsor”), paid $
Immediately prior to the effective time of the Company Merger,
| F-13 |
| Table of Contents |
The Sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders or members of the Company’s management team acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination during the Combination Period and, in such event, such amount will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only the $
Liquidity and Going Concern
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $
Until the consummation of a Business Combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing due diligence on prospective target businesses, paying for travel expenditures, selecting the target business to acquire, and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination. Based on its current cash and working capital balances, management believes that the Company will not have sufficient working capital to meet its needs through the consummation of a Business Combination.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with the intended Business Combination, the Sponsor, 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 required. As of August 15, 2024, in connection with the sale of the Original Sponsor’s stake to the New Sponsor, the Company’s outstanding liabilities amounting to $
As a result of the transaction, the Company had no outstanding liabilities to the former Sponsor as of December 31, 2024, with all debts effectively settled upon the transfer.
| F-14 |
| Table of Contents |
In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with FASB ASC Subtopic 205-40, “Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern” management has determined that the date for mandatory liquidation and dissolution raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time, which is considered one year from the issuance of these financial statements. The Company demonstrates adverse conditions that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year following the issuance of these financial statements. These adverse conditions are negative financial trends, specifically a working capital deficiency and other adverse key financial ratios. No adjustments have been made to the carrying amounts or classification of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate. There is no assurance that a Business Combination will be consummated by any such date of termination approved in accordance with the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. 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. All of the Company’s cash and marketable securities held in Trust Account are considered cash equivalents as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2024 and 2023, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in cash or in money market mutual funds in U.S. based trust accounts at JP Morgan Chase and Morgan Stanley with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
The Company accounts for its securities held in the Trust Account in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 320 “Investments-Debt Securities.” These securities are classified as trading securities with unrealized gains or losses recognized through other income. The Company values its securities held in the Trust Account based on quoted prices in active markets (see Note 8 for more information).
Warrant Liabilities
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 Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the warrant holders could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, 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 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 statements of operations.
| F-15 |
| Table of Contents |
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC 480. Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature 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) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the remeasurement from initial book value to redemption amount. The change in the carrying value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption resulted in charges against additional paid-in capital and accumulated deficit.
At December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
|
| Shares |
|
| Amounts |
| ||
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption - December 31, 2022 |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
Less: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments to Class A ordinary shareholders for redemption of shares |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Plus: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Due to shareholders paid in 2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value |
|
| - |
|
|
|
| |
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption - December 31, 2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
| ||
Less: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Payments to Class A ordinary shareholders for redemption of shares |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Due to shareholders |
|
| ( | ) |
|
| ( | ) |
Plus: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remeasurement of carrying value to redemption value |
|
| - |
|
|
|
| |
Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption – December 31, 2024 |
| $ |
|
| $ |
| ||
In connection with the vote to approve the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem
During the year , the Company remeasured the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to increase the carrying amount by $
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage of $
| F-16 |
| Table of Contents |
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth 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.
Fair value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the Government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman Islands income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
| F-17 |
| Table of Contents |
Net Income (Loss) Per Ordinary Share
Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per share (in dollars, except share amounts):
|
| For the year ended |
|
| For the year ended |
| ||||||||||
|
| December 31, 2024 |
|
| December 31, 2023 |
| ||||||||||
|
| Class A Redeemable |
|
| Class A Nonredeemable and Class B |
|
| Class A Redeemable |
|
| Class A Nonredeemable and Class B |
| ||||
Basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share: |
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Numerator: |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ||||
Allocation of net income (loss) |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
Denominator: |
|
|
|
|
|
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|
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Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares outstanding |
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Basic and diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share |
| $ | ( | ) |
| $ | ( | ) |
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Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 changes the way entities measure credit losses for most financial assets and certain other instruments that are not measured at fair value through net income. For emerging growth companies, the new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after January 1, 2023. The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 as of January 1, 2023, with no impact to its financial statements because the Company does not have financial assets within the scope of ASU 2016-13.
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires the disclosure of additional segment information. ASU No. 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. The Company adopted this guidance as of December 31, 2024.
In December 2023, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosure” (“ASU 2023-09”). ASU 2023-09 mostly requires, on an annual basis, disclosure of specific categories in an entity’s effective tax rate reconciliation and income taxes paid disaggregated by jurisdiction. The incremental disclosures may be presented on a prospective or retrospective basis. The ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024 with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting ASU 2023-09 on its financial statements. As a British Virgin Islands entity, the Company is not subject to income taxes, as such, the Company does not expect any impact of adopting ASU 2023-09 on its financial statements.
| F-18 |
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The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Risks and Uncertainties
The current conflicts in Russia and Ukraine, as well as Israel and Gaza, resulting sanctions and related countermeasures by the United States and other countries could to lead to market disruptions, including significant volatility in the credit and capital markets and the economy in general, which could have an adverse impact on the operations and financial performance of our potential Business Combination targets and our Company.
Note 3 — Initial Public Offering
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold
Note 4 — Related Party Transactions Founder Shares
On October 28, 2020, the Sponsor paid $
| F-19 |
| Table of Contents |
The Sponsor has agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of its Founder Shares or Class A ordinary shares received upon conversion thereof until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of a Business Combination and (B) subsequent to a Business Combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $
The Company’s Founder Shares are subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in a letter agreement with the Company entered into by the initial stockholders, and officers and directors. The Sponsor has the right to transfer its ownership in the Founder Shares at any time, and to any transferee, to the extent that the Sponsor determines, in good faith, that such transfer is necessary to ensure that it and/or any of its parents, subsidiaries or affiliates are in compliance with the Investment Company Act of 1940. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of the initial stockholders with respect to any Founder Shares. Prior to the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor transferred
On August 15, 2024, the Company, the Original Sponsor, CGA Sponsor, LLC, and the New Sponsor, Ringwood Field, LLC, entered into a share purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, among other things: (a) the Original Sponsor transferred to the New Sponsor an aggregate of
Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor purchased an aggregate of
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors had previously agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign, or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until
Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors, may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. 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. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $
| F-20 |
| Table of Contents |
Administrative Services Agreement
Pursuant to an administrative services agreement (the “Administrative Services Agreement”) entered into on December 17, 2020, the Company agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $
Operating and Formation Costs
As of December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, the Sponsor and its affiliates had paid operating and formation costs of $
Note 5 — Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, and securities that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans, if any, are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered in connection with the Initial Public Offering. These holders are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, these holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
After the Initial Public Offering, the underwriters were entitled to a deferred fee of $
On June 23, 2023, the Company and the underwriter agreed to terminate the December 20, 2022 fee reduction agreement solely upon execution of a side letter in accordance with the duly executed Mutual Termination of Initial Fee Reduction Agreement. On June 23, 2023, in accordance with the duly executed Side Letter to Underwriting Agreement, the Company and the underwriter agreed to the following:
| 3. | Cantor will irrevocably forfeit $ |
| F-21 |
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| 4. | In addition, upon the consummation of the Business Combination, the Company shall pay to the Underwriter a non-refundable cash fee equal to |
| ● | (x) the aggregate maximum gross proceeds received or receivable in connection with any Equity Financing, including, without limitation, aggregate amounts committed by investors to purchase securities, whether or not all securities are issued upon consummation of the Business Combination, plus |
| ● | (y) the gross proceeds received by the Company upon exercise of any warrants or other securities issued in connection with such Financing that are convertible into common stock of the Company; |
| ● | the aggregate maximum principal amount of debt committed or available to be committed or available in connection with the Debt Financing (including, without limitation, in the case of an offering of debt securities, the aggregate maximum principal amount of securities committed to be purchased by investors), whether or not drawn down (or, in the case of an offering of debt securities, whether or not purchased) upon consummation of the business Combination; and |
| ● | any proceeds received from the Trust Account in connection with the Business Combination. |
However, on August 15, 2024, as part of the change in sponsor in connection with the share purchase agreement, the Company, the Original Sponsor, the New Sponsor, and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., as the underwriter from the IPO, entered into an agreement under which Cantor agreed to accept a certain number of shares of the Company following the completion of a Business Combination, in lieu of the cash deferred commissions owed from the IPO.
The fees noted in items 1, 2 and additional notes above are contingent upon the successful completion of a Business Combination. There is no assurance that a Business Combination will be consummated by any such date of termination approved in accordance with the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association. In accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 450, Contingencies, the Company is required to record its best estimate of the loss if the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The fee amount noted in item 2 cannot be reasonably estimated or determinable at this time and as a result, is not recorded in the financial statements.
Finder’s Fee Arrangement
In connection with the Proposed Business Combination, a portion of the founder shares will be distributed under an agreement with a third party dated as of April 28, 2023 that constitutes a finder’s fee arrangement (the “Finder’s Fee Arrangement”). The Finder’s Fee Arrangement provides for our sponsor to make a $
If the Proposed Business Combination does not close for any reason, and a termination fee is actually paid by Noventiq to the Company, the Sponsor or their affiliates, then the third party will be entitled to receive a $
On March 14, 2024, the Finder’s fee Arrangement was amended and restated which no longer provides the third party an option to purchase an economic interest in
As the Proposed Business Combination was terminated on July 3, 2024, the Company does not expect to recognize compensation expense associated with this arrangement.
| F-22 |
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Note 6 — Warrant Liabilities
The Public Warrants will become exercisable at $
The exercise price and number of shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. 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 $
The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants, so long as they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) are not redeemable by the Company, (ii) may not (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of these warrants), subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holders until
Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the Public Warrants for redemption (except with respect to the Private Placement Warrants if they are held by the Sponsor or its permitted transferees):
| ● | in whole and not in part; |
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| ● | at a price of $ |
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| ● | upon a minimum of |
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| ● | if, and only if, the last reported sale price (the “closing price”) of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $ |
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In addition, once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may call the warrants for redemption: | ||
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| ● | if the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for any |
The “fair market value” of the Class A ordinary shares for the above purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares during the
If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management has the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement. Additionally, in no event is the Company be required to net cash settle any Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete the initial Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.
Nasdaq removed our securities from listing, which became effective at the opening of business on August 14, 2024. The Company’s public warrants, issued under a Warrant Agreement dated December 16, 2020, between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, remain outstanding and unaffected by the delisting
Note 7 — Shareholders’ Deficit
Preference Shares — The Company is authorized to issue
Class A Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue
On December 20, 2022, in connection with the December 2022 Extraordinary General Meeting, certain shareholders exercised their right to redeem
On June 20, 2023, in connection with the June 2023 Extraordinary General Meeting, shareholders elected to redeem
On June 21, 2023, in connection with the approval of the Founder Conversion Amendment, the Sponsor elected to convert
On February 29, 2024, in connection with the vote to approve the February 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem
In connection with the vote to approve the extension at the June 2024 Extraordinary General Meeting, shareholders elected to redeem
On October 31, 2024, in connection with the vote to approve the October 2024 Extension Amendment Proposal, shareholders elected to redeem
As of December 31, 2024, the Company has an aggregate of
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Class B Ordinary Shares — The Company is authorized to issue
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares have the right to vote on the appointment of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for- one basis (as adjusted). In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Founder Shares will equal, in the aggregate,
On August 15, 2024, the Original Sponsor, CGA Sponsor, LLC, transferred an aggregate of
Note 8 — Fair Value Measurements
The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of the amounts that would be 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 determining fair value, management maximizes the use of observable inputs (e.g., market data obtained from independent sources) and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs (e.g., internal assumptions regarding market participant pricing of assets and liabilities). The Company uses the following fair value hierarchy to classify its assets and liabilities:
Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2: Observable inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability.
Level 3: Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability. These inputs reflect the entity’s own assumptions about market participant assumptions.
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The following tables present information about the Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2024, and December 31, 2023, indicating the level within the fair value hierarchy:
Description |
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Cash and Marketable securities held in Trust Account |
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Liabilities: |
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Warrant Liability – Public Warrants |
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The Company accounts for its warrants as liabilities in accordance with ASC 815-40. These warrant liabilities are initially measured at fair value and subsequently remeasured on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value recognized in the statement of operations.
Initial Measurement and Subsequent Measurement
The Company established the initial fair value for the Public Warrants on December 21, 2020, the date of the consummation of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, using a Monte Carlo simulation model. Proceeds received from (i) the sale of Units (each comprising one Class A ordinary share and one-third of one Public Warrant), (ii) the sale of Private Placement Warrants, and (iii) the issuance of Class B ordinary shares were allocated first to the warrants based on their fair values determined at initial measurement, with the remaining proceeds allocated to Class A and Class B ordinary shares based on their relative fair values as of that date. The Public Warrants were classified as Level 3 at initial measurement due to the use of significant unobservable inputs.
The Public Warrants are remeasured at fair value on a recurring basis. As of December 31, 2023, the subsequent measurement was classified as Level 1, reflecting quoted prices in an active market since February 8, 2021. Following the delisting of the Public Warrants on August 14, 2024, with the last Nasdaq trading price recorded at market close on August 13, 2024, the subsequent measurement of the Public Warrants as of December 31, 2024, is classified as Level 3. Although the last traded price was used as an initial reference, the final valuation was determined using a Monte Carlo simulation model that estimates the fair value of similar asset classes as of December 31, 2024.
The Private Placement Warrants, which had previously been measured using Level 2 inputs, were also valued using Modified Black-Scholes model. However, as part of the sponsor change on August 15, 2024, these warrants were cancelled and removed from the balance sheet.
The key inputs into the Monte Carlo simulation model for the Public Warrants as of December 31, 2024, were as follows:
Input |
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Redemption price |
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Probability of successful acquisition |
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Using these inputs, the Public Warrants were determined to have a fair value of $
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The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities:
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Fair value as of December 31, 2022 |
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Fair value as of December 31, 2023 |
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Cancellation of Private Warrants |
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Fair value as of December 31, 2024 |
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The change in fair value of the Level 3 warrant liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2024 is summarized as follows:
Change in fair value of warrant liability |
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Transfer in of warrant liability at December 31, 2023 |
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Note 9 – Segment Information
The Company follows ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting, which requires disclosure of financial information about a company’s operating segments, products and services, geographic areas, and major customers. An operating segment is defined as a component of the business for which separate financial information is available and evaluated regularly by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) in assessing performance and allocating resources.
The Company’s CODM has been identified as the Chief Executive Officers, who collectively assess the financial results of the Company on a consolidated basis. As a result, management has concluded that the Company operates as a single operating segment.
In evaluating performance and making resource allocation decisions, the CODM reviews key metrics, including interest income earned on investments held in the Trust Account and the Company’s formation and operating costs. These amounts are included in the accompanying statements of operations.
Interest income from the Trust Account is reviewed by the CODM to monitor stockholder value and to determine an effective investment strategy, in line with the requirements of the trust agreement. Formation and operating costs are evaluated to manage the Company’s cash flow, ensure sufficient liquidity to complete a business combination within the required timeframe, and to confirm that spending remains within the parameters of contractual obligations and budgeted expectations.
Note 10 — Subsequent Events
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred up to the date financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any other subsequent events, not previously disclosed, that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
| F-27 |