CXApp Inc S-1/A, filed Dec 10, 2020
CXApp Inc. (CXAI)
S-1/A
2020-12-10
View Original
Added on
October 22, 2026
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 10, 2020
Registration No. 333-249177
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Amendment No. 3
to
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
to
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
KINS Technology Group Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| |
Delaware
|
| |
6770
|
| |
85-2104918
|
|
| |
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) |
| |
(Primary Standard Industrial
Classification Code Number) |
| |
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number) |
|
Four Palo Alto Square, Suite 200
3000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650-575-4456
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
3000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650-575-4456
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)
Khurram P. Sheikh, Chief Executive Officer
KINS Technology Group Inc.
Four Palo Alto Square, Suite 200
3000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650-575-4456
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
KINS Technology Group Inc.
Four Palo Alto Square, Suite 200
3000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650-575-4456
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
| |
Gregg A. Noel, Esq.
Michael J. Mies, Esq. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP 525 University Avenue, Suite 1400 Palo Alto, California 94301 (650) 470-4500 |
| |
Paul D. Tropp
Rachel D. Phillips Ropes & Gray LLP 1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 (212) 596-9000 |
|
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
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 ☐ | |
| | Non-accelerated filer ☒ | | | Smaller reporting company ☒ | |
| | | | | Emerging growth company ☒ | |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
|
Title of each Class of Security being registered
|
| |
Amount being
Registered |
| |
Proposed
Maximum Offering Price Per Security(1) |
| |
Proposed
Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1) |
| |
Amount of
Registration Fee |
| |||||||||
|
Units, each consisting of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant(2)
|
| |
23,000,000 Units
|
| | | $ | 10.00 | | | | | $ | 230,000,000 | | | | | $ | 29,854.00 | | |
|
Shares of Class A common stock included as part of the Units(3)
|
| |
23,000,000 Shares
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | —(4) | | |
| Redeemable Warrants included as part of the Units(3) | | |
11,500,000 Warrants
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | —(4) | | |
| Total | | | | | | | | | | | | | $ | 230,000,000 | | | | | $ | 29,854.00(5) | | |
(1)
Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(a) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the “Securities Act”.
(2)
Includes 3,000,000 Units, consisting of 3,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 1,500,000 redeemable warrants underlying such Units, which may be issued on exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any.
(3)
Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from stock splits, stock dividends or similar transactions.
(4)
No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act.
(5)
Previously paid.
The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
our initial business combination, holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law.
Currently, there is no public market for our units, Class A common stock or warrants. We have been approved to list our units on The Nasdaq Capital Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “KINZ.U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect that our units will be listed on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect that the Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless UBS Securities LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company Incorporated and BTIG, LLC inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds of this offering and issuing a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq under the symbols “KINZ” and “KINZ WS,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page
45 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
| | | |
Per Unit
|
| |
Total
|
| ||||||
| Public offering price | | | | $ | 10.00 | | | | | $ | 200,000,000 | | |
| Underwriting discounts and commissions(1) | | | | $ | 0.55 | | | | | $ | 11,000,000(2) | | |
| Proceeds, before expenses, to KINS Technology Group Inc. | | | | $ | 9.45 | | | | | $ | 189,000,000 | | |
(1)
Includes $0.35 per unit, or up to $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting” for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters.
(2)
Certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors.
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $202.0 million, or $232.3 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full ($10.10 per unit in either case), will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2.0 million will be available to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2020.
Joint Book-Running Managers
UBS Investment BankStifel
BTIG
Co-Lead Manager
JMP Securities
Co-Managers
Maxim Group LLC
Academy Securities
, 2020
We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and neither we nor the underwriters take responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus or the date specified herein.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| | | | | | 1 | | | |
| | | | | | 44 | | | |
| | | | | | 45 | | | |
| | | | | | 80 | | | |
| | | | | | 85 | | | |
| | | | | | 86 | | | |
| | | | | | 88 | | | |
| | | | | | 89 | | | |
| | | | | | 96 | | | |
| | | | | | 124 | | | |
| | | | | | 135 | | | |
| | | | | | 138 | | | |
| | | | | | 142 | | | |
| | | | | | 160 | | | |
| | | | | | 169 | | | |
| | | | | | 177 | | | |
| | | | | | 177 | | | |
| | | | | | 177 | | | |
| | | | | | F-1 | | |
Trademarks
This prospectus contains references to trademarks and service marks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that the applicable licensor will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, its rights to these trademarks and trade names. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
Summary
This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. As this is a summary, it does not contain all of the information that you should consider in making an investment decision. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing.
Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
➢
“certificate of incorporation” are to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be in effect as of the date of this prospectus;
➢
“common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively;
➢
“direct anchor investors,” are to certain funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Inc.;
➢
“equity-linked securities” are to any securities of our company that are convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for common stock of our company;
➢
“founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock outstanding as of this offering and the shares of our Class A common stock that may be issued upon the conversion thereof as described herein;
➢
“initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and the other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering;
➢
“KINS Technology Group,” “KINS,” “Company,” “our,” “we,” or “us” are to KINS Technology Group Inc.;
➢
“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;
➢
“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor and direct anchor investors in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering;
➢
“public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market);
➢
“public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and members of our management team to the extent they purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;
➢
“public warrants” are to (1) our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market) and (2) any private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are transferred to third parties that are not initial purchasers or permitted transferees following the consummation of our initial business combination;
➢
“Representatives” are to UBS Securities LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and BTIG, LLC, as representatives of the several underwriters of this offering;
➢
“specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class of equity or equity-linked securities to certain purchasers, which may include affiliates of our management team, that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination;
1
➢
“sponsor” are to KINS Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, in which each of our officers and directors is, directly or indirectly, a member, and of which Khurram P. Sheikh, our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, is the managing member; and
➢
“warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants and private placement warrants, as well as any warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans upon consummation of our initial business combination, collectively.
Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
In October 2020, our sponsor forfeited 625,000 founder shares and the direct anchor investors purchased 625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share.
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares.
2
Proposed business
Our Company
We are a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any target business with respect to an initial business combination with us. We may pursue a target business in any industry or geographic region.
Our Mission
KINS Technology Group is focused on identifying and acquiring transformative technology businesses that are shaping the digital future and creating a new paradigm of communications and computing.
The five technology pillars of this new paradigm are next generation connectivity, open software, edge-cloud computing, predictive data analytics, and immersive media technologies.
We believe the world is at an inflection point and these technologies will transform all vertical market segments including IT, industrial, transportation, smart infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, and entertainment.
Our Management (Officers & Directors)
Our leader Mr. Khurram Sheikh has assembled a dynamic management team of industry pioneers, entrepreneurs, operating executives, and market makers who have significant public sector experiences to source the next generation of transformative technologies and applications. We are staunch believers in the power of technology and design-thinking in creating disruptive human experiences, and we are convinced that the new age of technology ushers in transformational change. The team’s diverse skill sets of creative ideation, product innovation, industry development, operational excellence and scale engineering blend together to provide a unique view of how businesses should function in the new age of technology. The diversity of the KINS team parallels the convergence occurring in the marketplace because members of the team have wide-ranging and complementary experience that will provide a solid foundation to evaluate a range of opportunities.
Mr. Khurram Sheikh has served as our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Sheikh has been at the forefront of innovation in the technology, mobile, semiconductor, telecom and media industries for the past 25 years with CEO and CTO roles at leading technology companies. Hired as an intern at Sprint’s Advanced Technology Labs in the summer of 1996 from Stanford University, he started a project called “Broadband Wireless” that ultimately led to the world’s first 4G system deployment in 2004. As CTO for Mobile Broadband at Sprint, Mr. Sheikh and his team pioneered the adoption of MIMO and OFDM technologies as the global technology standard for 4G and built the overall ecosystem for 4G from devices to infrastructure assembling a diverse set of global vendor partners. His team was also responsible for the multi-billion dollar acquisition of 200 MHz of nationwide BRS (Broadband Radio Service) spectrum at 2.5GHz. Currently, this spectrum is the cornerstone of the combined T-Mobile-Sprint’s 5G strategy and showcases his vision and foresight. After the Sprint-Nextel merger in 2005, Mr. Sheikh was hired as employee no.1 for wireless at Time Warner Cable (“Time Warner”) as VP, Wireless Strategy and Development. There, he and his team designed the first outdoor cable WiFi hot-spots that are now deployed in the millions across the country. At Time Warner, his team was also responsible for the first cable MVNO as well as the multi-billion dollar acquisition of AWS spectrum on behalf of the cable consortium Spectrum Co. From 2007 to 2013, he was the CTO for Powerwave Technologies (“Powerwave”) where he built the world’s first software defined active antenna and remote radio head technology that has been deployed in millions of installations globally and was subsequently appointed as the CEO of Powerwave in 2013. In 2014,
3
Mr. Sheikh was appointed as the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer for Silicon Image (SIMG) and the President/CEO of its millimeter wave/5G subsidiary SiBEAM. SiBEAM pioneered millimeter wave RF beamforming technology using CMOS processes, and built the largest patent portfolio in the space as well as high performance semiconductor and software products for consumer, industrial, and communications markets. SIMG was acquired by Lattice Semiconductor (“Lattice”) (Nasdaq:LSCC) for $600 million after which he was appointed the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of the combined company responsible for corporate strategy, roadmap, M&A and technology development, and his team developed the core new strategy for Lattice’s edge AI applications product portfolio. From 2016 to early 2020, Mr. Sheikh was the CEO of kwikbit, a private company building a “network as a service” solution using gigabit radios, edge compute, virtualization, and artificial intelligence. Currently, he is Founder & CEO of Aijaad, a boutique strategic advisory firm where he advises both large private equity firms as well as boards of public companies on the future of 5G, IoT, Edge Computing and AI technologies and is actively involved in M&A, technology strategy and market development. Mr. Sheikh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with highest honors from the University of Engineering & Technology in Pakistan, as well as a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He has also completed advanced management courses at the Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Eric Zimits has served as our Chief Corporate Development Officer since August 2020. Mr. Zimits is also a Strategic Advisor to Netzyn, Inc. (“Netzyn”), a company that has developed a distributed cloud platform that streams native applications and operating systems to any user device. Mr. Zimits has had an extensive career in the financial sector as an analyst and investor and was among the first analysts on Wall Street to identify the wireless and mobile communications opportunity, and later the internet infrastructure sector. Mr. Zimits was active in identifying, analyzing, and supporting initial public offering and follow-on public offering prospects throughout his career. He has worked on public offerings for industry pioneers including Qorvo, Checkpoint Software, F5 Networks, Proxim, and Openwave. Mr. Zimits’ years of experience tracking the communications industry teamed with his financial savvy enables him to guide portfolio companies in making sound business decisions based on a deep understanding of the marketplace. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Zimits launched research coverage of the wireless industry as a General Partner at Volpe, Welty & Company. Mr. Zimits also held analyst positions at Rauscher Pierce Refsnes and Morgan Keegan & Company. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Zimits was Managing Director and head of the Communications Research Group at Hambrecht & Quist (“H&Q”), and later ChaseH&Q after the acquisition of H&Q. At H&Q, he initiated and supported numerous venture investments including InterNAP, Sierra Wireless, Amber Networks, and Paragon Software. Following ChaseH&Q, Mr. Zimits served as a Managing Director of Granite Ventures (“Granite”) from 2000 until 2016. At Granite, he focused on investing in early-stage communications, security, and software companies including RF Magic (NYSE: MXL), Speakeasy (acquired by Best Buy), Mojo Networks (acquired by Arista), Percello (acquired by Broadcom), and Localmind (acquired by Airbnb). In addition to his current role at Netzyn, he serves as advisor to early stage companies including Image Algorithmics and Nivasa. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in biomedical engineering and an M.B.A. from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.
Mr. Hassan Ahmed has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Ahmed most recently served as the Chairman and CEO of Affirmed Networks (“Affirmed”) which pioneered virtualization technologies for mobile 5G networks. He ran Affirmed from inception, and after nearly a decade of growth, sold the company to Microsoft in March 2020. He was chief technology officer of Cascade Communications which Ascend Communications (“Ascend”) acquired for $3.7 billion. In 1999, Lucent Technologies acquired Ascend for $24 billion where he was General Manager of the Cascade business. He served as CEO and Chairman of Sonus Networks (“Sonus”), growing it from its very early roots to the leading company transforming telephony to IP. Sonus went public in May 2000 and had a peak market value of $15.4 billion. Mr. Ahmed currently serves on the boards of Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) and Vesper. He has also served on several other public and private boards as well as on the boards of select educational institutions. Mr. Ahmed holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Engineering from Carleton University and a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Ms. Di-Ann Eisnor has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Ms. Eisnor is an entrepreneur and executive who is currently Co-Founder and CEO of Core, a venture-backed
4
construction labor marketplace. Ms. Eisnor had a transformative impact and helped scale Waze, Inc. (“Waze”), a crowd-sourced navigation and real-time traffic application, owned by Alphabet, Inc. Ms. Eisnor was with Waze for 10 years, founding its U.S. office in 2009. During her tenure she oversaw user growth from 10,000 to more than 100 million. Her infrastructure and mobility work brought data and tools into 800+ cities to reduce congestion and improve emergency response times. Waze was acquired by Google in 2013 for over $1 billion. At Google, she played a key role in operationalizing the Waze integration. She culminated her work at Waze as the VP Platform and Director of Growth. Prior to joining Waze, Ms. Eisnor was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Platial Inc., a collaborative, user-generated cartographic website. Ms. Eisnor currently serves on the board of Saia Inc. (Nasdaq: SAIA) and Gray Area Foundation for the Arts. Most recently, she was an executive of The We Company, a part of the We Work Companies, from February 2019 until her departure in October 2019. She is a venture partner at Obvious Ventures and is co-founder with Lupe Fiasco of Neighborhood Start Fund, a neighborhood-based micro-fund in underserved urban neighborhoods. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art and Business Administration from New York University. She is a 2014 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Mr. Camillo Martino has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Martino was a senior global semiconductor company executive and now serves as a board member and executive advisor to many global technology companies that are focused on building high growth businesses that emphasize the convergence around wireless, IoT, cloud, edge and AI applications. Prior to his current board roles, Mr. Martino was a chief executive officer and C-suite executive of a number of high technology companies worldwide. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of MagnaChip Semiconductor (NYSE: MX) and has served on this Board since August 2016. Since 2018, he has also served on the Board of Directors at Sensera (ASX: SE1), which is focused on IoT platform solutions. Mr. Martino also serves on the Board of Directors at multiple privately-held companies, including VVDN Technologies (fastest growing ODM based in India with a focus on Wireless, Networking & IoT) and KeraCel (multi-material, multi-method 3D printing). Mr. Martino’s prior board service includes serving on the boards of Cypress Semiconductor from June 2017 through the sale of the company to Infineon in April 2020 for $10 billion and Moschip Technologies (BOM: 532407) from April 2017 to May 2019. As an operating executive, Mr. Martino served as Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Image, Inc. (where he also served as a director) from 2010 until the completion of its sale to Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: LSCC) in March 2015, Chief Operating Officer of SAI Technology Inc. from January 2008 to December 2009 (where he also served as director from 2006 to 2010), and Chief Executive Officer of Cornice Inc. from 2005 to 2007 (where he also served as a director). From August 2001 to July 2005, Mr. Martino served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Zoran Corporation, a global SoC semiconductor company. Prior to that, Mr. Martino held multiple positions with National Semiconductor Corporation for a total of nearly 14 years in four countries. Mr. Martino holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma (in Digital Communications) from Monash University in Australia.
Mr. Atif Rafiq has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Before stepping down in December 2020, Mr. Rafiq served as President of Commercial & Growth at MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), a Fortune 300 company, where he oversaw a significant portfolio of corporate functions as well as directed the company’s growth strategy. Previously, he was the Chief Digital Officer and Global CIO for Volvo, the Swedish luxury automaker and Global 250 company. He joined Volvo in January 2017 to partner with the CEO on business model and product innovation, and oversee efforts in mobility, connected cars, IoT, e-commerce, retail systems, CRM, big data, AI, and enterprise applications. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Rafiq formulated and drove one of the largest digital transformations in the world at McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) as Senior Vice President and Global Chief Digital Officer. In four years, the company went from ideas to global rollout of initiatives such as mobile ordering, digital delivery, curbside pickup, table service and ordering, digital menu boards, personalized offers, and kiosk based self-service ordering. These initiatives have been rolled out globally as McDonald’s “store of the future,” adding billions of incremental revenue. Mr. Rafiq has been at the center of Internet and digital disruption for over 20 years, building on 15 years of experience in pure play tech companies such as Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yahoo and AOL where he led large scale, fast growing digital businesses. Mr. Rafiq was also the Founder and CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up, Covigna, which he
5
led from inception to exit. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics-Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. Mr. Rafiq is a social media influencer, with over 600,000 followers on Twitter and LinkedIn, and has advised and invested in over 30 startups.
Mr. Allen Salmasi has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Salmasi is a pioneer in the wireless industry with over 40 years of experience building leading edge companies. Mr. Salmasi is the CEO of Veea Inc. (“Veea”), a provider of comprehensive full stack solutions for edge computing and communications. He is also the Chairman and CEO of NLabs Inc., a New York based family office investment firm. Mr. Salmasi serves on the boards of several companies engaged in the areas of quantum photonics, distributed hybrid edge-cloud and oncology. Prior to founding Veea in 2014, Mr. Salmasi was the Chairman, CEO and President of NextWave Wireless Inc. (“NextWave”) until its acquisition by AT&T (NYSE: ATT) in 2013. At NextWave, Mr. Salmasi and his team developed and implemented the first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) service with MCI Corp. as its first major customer, in 1996. Through 2013, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and other carriers and telecom vendors purchased NextWave assets in separate transactions for multiple billions of dollars. Prior to NextWave, he served as the President of Wireless Division, Chief Strategy Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Qualcomm, where he initiated and led the development of the cellular products business, including chipset and handset product developments and licensing and standards programs for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, and initiated the Globalstar low-earth-orbit mobile satellite communications project. Prior to Qualcomm, Mr. Salmasi was the CEO and President of Omninet Corporation, where he initiated and led the development of OmniTRACS, the world’s first and largest commercial terrestrial mobile satellite communications service for two-way messaging and position reporting services that embodied the first commercial application of CDMA. Mr. Salmasi began his career as a research engineer at NASA JPL, and holds Bachelor’s degrees and Master’s degree with honors in Electrical Engineering, Business Management and Economics from Purdue University and a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southern California.
Our Market Opportunity
The technology sector has experienced tremendous transformation in recent years. The combination of big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, ubiquitous high speed and mobile computing have fundamentally changed the way society operates. As part of this, businesses have begun to look at digital transformation as a means to modernize their communications infrastructure and technology in order to enable improvements in operational efficiency, innovation, customer engagement and experience, and remote work/work from home (‘WFH”). A key component of this enterprise transition is the adoption of cloud-first business strategies that enable customers and employees to access applications and services, anytime and anywhere. We believe we are still in the early days of this transition with only a fraction of an enterprise’s applications / workloads shifting to the cloud.
This transformation is creating a fundamental paradigm shift in how carriers and enterprises adopt their communications infrastructure and technology stacks. Where data is processed, how data is analyzed, how individuals communicate, and how networks are designed for flexibility, amongst many other changes, are all being driven by changes in technology. The five pillars of this new paradigm are next generation connectivity, open software, edge-cloud computing, predictive data analytics, and immersive media technologies. According to industry analysts, key segments of our five technology pillars offer a current industry size of $1 trillion growing to over $3.5 trillion in aggregate by 2027.
Next Generation Connectivity
Over the past two decades, the move to broadband internet and 4G mobile broadband has fundamentally changed the technology industry and created new multi-billion dollar businesses ranging from mobile app stores to enterprise SaaS to streaming subscription services. KINS believes the industry is poised for the next stage of transformation with the emergence of next generation connectivity technologies that deliver networks at gigabit speeds, operate at millisecond latencies, and provide unprecedented levels
6
of attachment density. We believe that these networks will catalyze the development of next generation of applications and services.
The next generation of connectivity platforms includes 5G, Wi-Fi 6, UWB, OpenRAN, SD-WAN, and SASE to deliver this new age communications experience. We expect these capabilities to disrupt traditional business models and enable new IoT services and immersive applications to monetize data traffic. KINS believes that new core technologies such as beamforming, network slicing, IoT security, and location sensing will be required to deliver these applications and services. Also, this network transformation is expected to have a profound impact on the broad technology landscape, creating opportunities beyond the boundaries of traditional network investments.
Open Software
The adoption of open source software and modern DevOps tools has transformed the software industry. These technologies are being integrated into the network, creating powerful platforms that support robust developer ecosystems and free network operators from dependence on their hardware vendors. Now, developers can utilize open source libraries, exposed APIs, and container technology to rapidly prototype and deploy applications that operate securely on shared network resources. Combined with 5G capabilities such as network slicing, open software networks will enable new applications such as V2X communications, telehealth, and real-time promotions while disrupting old business models. KINS thinks that open networks will create investment opportunities across the software stack, including middleware, integration tools, security, and applications.
Edge-Cloud Computing
The cloud has rapidly consumed server compute, storage, media (video and music) and many enterprise applications. The economics of virtual storage and compute combined with the user experience derived from unfettered data access is expected to continue to drive growth in cloud computing. However, there are trends pushing compute from large, centralized data centers toward the network edge. Real-time applications, such as industrial control, autonomous vehicles, and mixed reality, require low latency processing, and the vast amount of data generated by these sensor-based applications necessitates data “down-select” at the edge to minimize unnecessary traffic to cloud servers. Finally, the need for sustained operation and security concerns will push many mission-critical applications to on-premise edge servers. Traditional architectures are evolving to support microservices, containers, and distributed applications. Organizations will need to scale out their network as traffic patterns within and between data centers continue to change and security requirements become more demanding. KINS believes that the growth of edge computing will create new markets as enterprises and service providers look to build connected clouds (public & private) and integrate applications across the edge and core data centers.
Predictive Data Analytics
Enterprises and service providers are data wellheads. Data has traditionally resided underutilized in static domains. Increasingly, the key definer of organizational success is the ability to collect, analyze, and convert data into business intelligence. As the scale of data has exceeded human scale, organizations are deploying AIOps (artificial intelligence for IT operations) to exploit vast data sets and automate data analysis. KINS will target companies that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to build and deliver solutions supporting enhanced network performance, user experiences, and industrial efficiency.
Immersive Media Technologies
The explosive growth of data center and network capacity has been driven by migration of movies, TV, and music to cloud-based services. The disruption has been massive, resulting in new media platforms and the consolidation of legacy companies into media conglomerates. Through this transition, the consumer continues to value branded content, engagement, and shared experiences. Media companies
7
will adopt technologies that deliver compelling user experiences, and are investing heavily in 3D graphics, augmented reality, and mixed reality. These same technologies are being applied to deliver innovative industrial and commercial solutions that promote efficiency and safety. KINS will target companies developing the system and software infrastructure that supports the growing immersive media opportunity including applications that apply to industry, training, and education.
Current Market Environment
Over the past several months, COVID-19 has acted as an accelerant to all of these existing trends as companies seek to cut costs and prepare for a more distributed workforce. Worldwide, companies have rapidly transitioned to a WFH environment with many companies planning to continue remote work following the pandemic. This trend is driving demand for deep connectivity and transformational leaps in technological capabilities. At the same time, multi-national companies are reimagining their supply chains and reshoring significant portions of their logistic requirements to cater for the exploding consumer trend to have all items shipped to their homes.
This dislocation has presented a number of transformational opportunities to catalyze growth. In the near-term, increased online traffic from consumers working and shopping from home is driving the need for additional services and a heightened importance of network security and trust in vendors. However, there is an expected permanent increase in IT spend to enable a more distributed workforce, including the necessity of edge and distributed computing requirements, accelerated transitions to cloud deployments, and continued increase in network traffic.
Another key trend is that enterprises are looking for new revenue streams and business models in this new environment, and our technology pillars will be key to enabling those opportunities.
According to industry analysts, key segments of our five technology pillars offer a current industry size of $1 trillion growing to over $3.5 trillion in aggregate by 2027.
Our Business Strategy
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines to evaluate prospective target businesses. We may, however, decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
•
have differentiated, transformational technology with a focus on next generation network and communications technologies;
•
operate within a significant and growing addressable market with runway for further growth;
•
have a validated business model, ability to scale, and have already gained a foothold in their markets;
•
have a rapid growth and sustainable profit margin profile;
•
are ready to operate in the scrutiny of public markets, with strong management, corporate governance and reporting policies in place;
•
will likely be well received by public investors and are expected to have continued access to the public capital markets;
•
have a proven and sophisticated management team with a track record and ability to create long-term shareholder value; and
•
will provide attractive return for shareholders with reasonable and appropriate valuation expectations and significant remaining upside.
These criteria and guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria and guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, criteria, and guidelines that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria and guidelines in our stockholder communications
8
related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC.
Initial business combination
Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% fair market value test. 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 another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons. However, we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. 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 of a target or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In such cases, 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 stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their affiliates, 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 our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.
9
Members of our management team will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability complete our business combination. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Corporate Information
Our executive offices are located at Four Palo Alto Square, Suite 200, 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306 and our telephone number is 650-575-4456. Upon completion of this offering, our corporate website address will be www.kins-tech.com. Our website and the information contained on, or that can be accessed through, the website is not deemed to be incorporated by reference in, and is not considered part of, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You should not rely on any such information in making your decision whether to invest in our securities.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder 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.
10
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 this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
11
The offering
In making your decision on whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
Securities offered
20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of:
➢
one share of Class A common stock; and
➢
one-half of one redeemable warrant to purchase one share of Class A common stock.
Proposed Nasdaq symbols
Units: “KINZ.U”
Class A Common Stock: “KINZ”
Warrants: “KINZ WS”
Trading commencement and separation of Class A common stock and warrants
The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the Representatives inform us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Additionally, we expect that the units will automatically separate into their component
12
parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Separate trading of the Class A common stock and warrants is prohibited until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Units:
Number outstanding before this offering
0
Number outstanding after this offering
20,000,000(1)
Common stock:
Number outstanding before this offering
5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock(2)(3)
Number outstanding after this offering
25,000,000 shares of common stock, consisting of 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock and 5,000,000 shares of Class B common stock(1)(3)
Redeemable Warrants:
Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering
8,000,000(1)
Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement
18,000,000(1)
Exercisability
Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided herein, and only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional
(1)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the forfeiture by our sponsor of an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares.
(2)
Includes up to an aggregate of 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised.
(3)
The shares of common stock included in the units are Class A common stock. Founder shares are classified as shares of Class B common stock, which shares are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described below adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution.”
13
warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
Exercise price
$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors, and in the case of any such issuance to our initial stockholders or their affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by them prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) 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 (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our shares of Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of each warrant will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) such that the effective exercise price per full share will be equal to 115% of the higher of (i) the Market Value and (ii) the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per-share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of (i) the Market Value and (ii) the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per-share redemption trigger price described adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of (i) the Market Value and (ii) the Newly Issued Price.
Exercise period
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of:
➢
30 days after the completion of our initial business combination; and
➢
12 months from the closing of this offering;
14
provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement).
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed; provided that, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as
15
described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
➢
in whole and not in part;
➢
at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
➢
upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and
➢
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock (or a security other than the Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination) issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. 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.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our
16
stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant. The “fair market value” of our Class A common stock for this purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information.
None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us (except as set forth under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00
Commencing ninety days after the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
➢
in whole and not in part;
➢
at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares of Class A common stock determined by reference to the table set forth under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants” based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined above) except as otherwise described in “Description of
17
Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants”;
➢
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders;
➢
if, and only if, the private placement warrants are also concurrently exchanged at the same price (equal to a number of shares of Class A common stock) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above; and
➢
if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock (or a security other than the Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination) issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given.
➢
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant (subject to adjustment).
No fractional shares of Class A common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise in connection with any redemption, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. Please see “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants” for additional information.
Election and removal of directors; voting rights
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of the Class A common stock will not be
18
entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of our board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, holders of our Class A common stock and holders of our Class B common stock will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote.
Expressions of interest
Our direct anchor investors have expressed to us an interest to purchase units in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such units to our direct anchor investors. There can be no assurance that our direct anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investors will retain, if any, upon the consummation of our initial business combination. In the event that such direct anchor investors purchase such units (either in this offering or after) and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that no votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
Our direct anchor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
Additionally, certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors. In the event these investors purchase the units described above, such investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust
19
account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
Directed Unit Program
At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to 5% of the units being offered by this prospectus for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, employees and other individuals associated with us and members of their families. The sales will be made by UBS Financial Services Inc., a selected dealer affiliated with UBS Securities LLC, an underwriter of this offering, through a directed unit program. We do not know if these persons will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available to the general public. Any reserved units not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other units. Participants in the directed unit program who purchase more than $1,000,000 of units will be subject to a 25-day lock-up with respect to any units sold to them pursuant to that program. This lock-up will have similar restrictions and an identical extension provision to the lock-up agreements described above. Any units sold in the directed unit program to our directors or executive officers shall be subject to the lock-up agreements described in this prospectus.
Founder shares
In July 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain of our offering costs in exchange for 5,750,000 founder shares. In October 2020, our sponsor forfeited 625,000 founder shares and the direct anchor investors purchased 625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share. Prior to this initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our sponsor, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. As such, our initial stockholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock upon the consummation of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we
20
will effect a stock dividend or a shares contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. Up to an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares will be subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised so that the number of founder shares will remain equal to 20% of our common stock after this offering.
The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, except that:
➢
prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason;
➢
the founder shares are shares of Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder (except for any founder shares held by the direct anchor investors who have agreed not to effect a conversion with respect to such founder shares until the consummation of the initial business combination), on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein;
➢
the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below;
➢
our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) their
21
redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 18 months as a result of a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (an “Extension Period”), 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. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted by the stockholders at a duly held stockholders meeting are voted to approve the initial business combination;
➢
The direct anchor investors have agreed to waive their right to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering and have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, 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
22
combination within the prescribed time frame. Permitted transferees of the founder shares held by the direct anchor investors will be subject to the same restrictions;
➢
our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to their founder shares, we would need 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), or 1,250,001, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (in each case assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised); and
➢
the founder shares are subject to registration rights.
Transfer restrictions on founder shares
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. Our officers and directors are owners of our sponsor and, accordingly, will indirectly be subject to the lock-up.
Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution
rights
rights
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business
23
combination, or earlier at the option of the holder (except for any founder shares held by the direct anchor investors who have agreed not to effect a conversion with respect to such founder shares until the consummation of the initial business combination), on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like, and subject to further adjustment as described herein. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination, including pursuant to a specified future issuance, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance, including pursuant to a specified future issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination (net of the number of shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with our initial business combination and excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued or issuable to any seller in the initial business combination).
Private placement warrants
Our sponsor and the direct anchor investors have committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 private placement warrants (or 8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein, at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($8,000,000 in the aggregate or $8,900,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement warrants, 7,019,607 private placement warrants (or 7,919,607 private placement warrants if the underwriters’
24
over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and 980,393 private placement warrants will be purchased by the direct anchor investors. The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering, subject to limited exceptions.
A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that at the time of closing $202.0 million (or $232.3 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless.
The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable (except as set forth under “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”) and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
Transfer restrictions on private placement
warrants
warrants
The private placement warrants (including the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants and the working capital loans) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Our officers and directors are owners of our sponsor and, accordingly, will indirectly be subject to the above transfer restrictions.
25
Cashless exercise of private placement warrants
In addition to the cashless exercise described above adjacent to “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00,” if holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “private warrant fair market value” of our Class A common stock (defined above) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the private warrant fair market value and (B) 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant. The “private warrant fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent.
The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could sell the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
Proceeds to be held in trust account
Nasdaq listing rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $202,000,000, or $10.10 per unit ($232,300,000, or $10.10 per unit, if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised
26
in full) will be placed into a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. These proceeds include up to $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting commissions on any units purchased in this offering by certain investors identified by our sponsor. The funds in the trust account will be held as cash or invested only in specified U.S. government treasury bills or in specified money market funds.
Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemptions in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public stockholders.
Anticipated expenses and funding sources
Except as described above with respect to the payment of taxes and in connection with redemptions of our public shares in connection with certain amendments to our certificate of incorporation, unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use. The proceeds held in the trust account will be held as cash or invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or
27
in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. Based upon a current interest rate of 0.1%, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $202,000 of interest annually.
Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from:
➢
the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,250,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $750,000 in expenses relating to this offering (such working capital amount to increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price); and
➢
any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates or other third parties (which may be converted into warrants upon consummation of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus), although they are under no obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us, and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants issued to our sponsor.
Conditions to completing our initial business combination
There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds privately, including pursuant to any specified future issuance, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. Nasdaq listing rules require that an initial business
28
combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of signing the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% fair market value test.
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 another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses.
We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons. However, we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders 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 transaction. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test, provided that in the event that the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate
29
value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
Permitted purchases of, and other transactions with respect to, our securities by our affiliates
If we seek stockholder 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 initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof 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. There is no limit on the number of securities our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq listing rules. Any such price per share may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with 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 initial stockholders, directors, 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. 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. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an
30
insider trading policy which will require insiders to refrain from purchasing our securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and to clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as such purchases will be dependent upon several factors, including, but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that 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. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination
31
within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.
Manner of conducting redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. Except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rule, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder 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 otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval under stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval, while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our certificate of incorporation:
➢
conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
➢
file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
32
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 under the Exchange Act to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event that 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternative business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will:
➢
conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and
➢
file proxy materials with the SEC.
➢
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock
33
voted by the stockholders at a duly held stockholders meeting are voted to approve the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count towards this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to their founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). However, because we generally only need a majority of the outstanding shares to be voted in favor of a proposed business combination to have such transaction approved, the number of public shares needed to be voted in favor of any transaction decreases as the overall number of public shares voted decreases. Accordingly, we would need only 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction if only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). In addition, as a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
34
Pursuant to Delaware law, we will not give less than 10 days nor more than 60 days prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to tender or electronically deliver their shares to our transfer agent up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. If the proposed business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates delivered, or shares tendered electronically, by public stockholders who elected to redeem their shares.
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock 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
35
aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and instead may search for an alternative business combination.
Limitation on redemption rights of stockholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a stockholder vote
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder 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 this offering, which we refer to herein as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against a business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders 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 stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those stockholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination.
36
Redemption rights in connection with proposed amendments to our certificate of incorporation
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain charter provisions. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, 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 outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon; provided that amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination require a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock. In all other instances, our certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, or applicable stock exchange listing requirements. We may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof, prior to our initial business combination, to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20.0% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Our sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us (filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part), that they will not propose any amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months
37
from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have also agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. The direct anchor investors have agreed to waive their right to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares, 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.
Release of funds in trust account on closing of our initial business combination
On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be disbursed directly by the trustee or released to us to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account
38
are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital.
Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware 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 complete our business combination within the allotted time period.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and the direct anchor investors have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if they acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our
39
initial business combination within the allotted time period.
The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and subsequently liquidate and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares.
Limited payments to insiders
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments made by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
➢
Repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor under a note;
➢
Payment of service and administrative fees to our sponsor, of $20,000 per month for up to 18 months;
➢
Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination;
➢
Repayment of loans which may be made to us to finance working capital and transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants; and
➢
At the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay customary financial consulting fees. We may pay such financial consulting fees in the event our initial stockholders, officers or directors, provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights,
40
relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such financial consulting fee we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed business combination.
➢
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
Audit Committee
We will establish and maintain an audit committee, which will be composed entirely of independent directors to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to promptly take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee.”
Conflicts of Interest
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will
41
materially affect our ability complete our business combination. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in a business similar to ours, although our sponsor and officers and directors (excluding independent directors) have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act which has publicly filed a registration statement with the SEC until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Indemnity
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, or by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account,
42
nor will the underwriters of this offering. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor, which is a newly formed entity, has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Risks
We are a newly formed company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues. Until we complete our initial business combination (at the earliest), we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors.”
Summary financial data
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| | | |
September 30,
2020 |
| |
July 27,
2020 |
|
| | | |
(Unaudited)
|
| |
(Audited)
|
|
| Balance Sheet Data: | | | | | | ||
|
Working capital (deficiency)
|
| |
$(350,959)
|
| |
$(27,000)
|
|
|
Total assets
|
| |
$374,959
|
| |
$51,000
|
|
|
Total liabilities
|
| |
$350,959
|
| |
$27,000
|
|
|
Stockholder’s equity
|
| |
$24,000
|
| |
$24,000
|
|
If no business combination is completed within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period.
43
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factor Summary
Certain statements in this prospectus 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 prospectus 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 with proprietary network communications technology;
➢
our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic;
➢
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination 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 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 following this offering or an initial business combination.
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in the section of this prospectus 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.
44
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 prospectus, 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.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. Except as required by applicable law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders 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 stockholder approval under stock exchange listing requirements. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the business combination we complete. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their shares in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to their founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). However, because we generally only need a majority of the outstanding shares to be voted in favor of a proposed business combination to have such transaction approved, the number of public shares needed to be voted in favor of any transaction decreases as the overall number of public shares voted decreases. Accordingly, we would need only 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction if only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). In addition, as a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. Our initial stockholders will own shares representing at least 20.0% of our outstanding shares of common stock immediately following the completion of this offering. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our sponsor, officers and directors agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
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. Since our board of directors may complete a business
45
combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights in connection with the consummation of an initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential target businesses, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon completion of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, each as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination, if at all, or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public stockholders 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 stock.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the
46
trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock 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 stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential target businesses, 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 stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the end of the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence. As a result, we may be forced to enter into an agreement for an initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected had we had more time to complete a transaction.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and other events, and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease ( COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, the U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic”. The COVID-19 outbreak has adversely affected, and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) could adversely affect, the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if concerns relating to COVID-19 continue to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases) continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other 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.
47
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.10 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our certificate of incorporation provides that we must complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.10 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the 18-month period, we may seek an amendment to our certificate of incorporation to extend the period of time we have to complete an initial business combination beyond 18 months. Our certificate of incorporation will require that such an amendment be approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may enter into certain transactions, including purchasing shares or warrants from the public, which may influence the outcome of a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our securities.
If we seek stockholder 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 initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material nonpublic information), our initial stockholders, directors, 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. 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. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood
48
of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) 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. This 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 common stock or warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, if we hold a stockholder meeting to approve a transaction, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination—Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Stockholder Meeting.”
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek stockholder 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 stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder 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 certificate of
49
incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder 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 this offering, without our prior consent. However, our certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ 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 stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, 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 will be 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 this 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 will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.
Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Additionally, our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by target businesses. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating and completing an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least 18 months following the closing of this offering, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.10 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,250,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements (such working capital amount to increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase
50
units in this offering at the initial public offering price). In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 18 months following the closing of this offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our initial stockholders, management team or other third parties to operate, or we may be forced to liquidate. None of our initial stockholders, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us in such circumstances. If we do not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business, we may not be able to consummate an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
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 stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, 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 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. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, nor will the underwriters of this offering.
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 completed our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders
51
could be less than the $10.10 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor, which is a newly formed entity, has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely 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 $10.10 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 public share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our independent directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. 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 stockholders may be reduced below $10.10 per share.
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share.
The net proceeds of this offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $202,000,000, will be held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay income
52
taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $202,000,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.10 per share.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders 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 stockholders. 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, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, 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 stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
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 compliance with 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
53
investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor. We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of an initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; and (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. 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.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not
54
complete our initial business combination within the required time period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 18th month from the closing of this offering (or the end of any Extension Period) in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, public stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management. In addition, prior to our business combination (a) as holders of our Class A common stock, our public stockholders will not have the right to vote on the appointment of our directors and (b) holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of our board of directors for any reason.
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders 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 common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of their founder
55
shares, after those shares convert to shares of our Class A common stock. In addition, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the private placement warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise 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 common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector or geographic area nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business possessing transformative technology in communications and computing, we may seek to complete our initial business combination with a target business in any industry, sector or geographic area. However, we will not, under our certificate of incorporation, be permitted to complete our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a target business. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such security holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which 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 candidate 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 candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all 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 this offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. 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 prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant
56
holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such security holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a private company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors and we may not 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 may also seek to complete our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We may not obtain an opinion from an independent valuation provider, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of
57
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.
We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock 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 certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 180,000,000 and 15,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance (assuming, in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option), which amount does not take into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding warrants or the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. Immediately after the consummation of this offering, there will be no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination (including pursuant to a specified future issuance) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock to redeem the warrants as described in “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” or upon conversion of the Class B common stock 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 certificate of incorporation. Our Class B common stock shall only be convertible at the time of our initial business combination. However, our certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof, to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation. The restriction on issuing additional shares of capital stock described in the prior sentence will expire upon consummation of our initial business combination. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
➢
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
➢
may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
➢
could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is 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 stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
58
➢
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and
➢
may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share, or less than such amount 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 which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular target business is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In July 2020, our sponsor acquired 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000. In October 2020, our sponsor forfeited 625,000 founder shares and the direct anchor investors purchased 625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after this offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and direct anchor investors have committed to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 (or 8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, for a purchase price of approximately $8,000,000 (or approximately $8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete our initial business combination within the allocated time period. Among the private placement warrants, 7,019,607 private placement warrants (or 7,919,607 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and 980,393 private placement warrants will be purchased by the direct anchor investors. In addition, we may obtain loans from our initial stockholders, officers, directors, or their affiliates. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline for completing our initial business combination nears.
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 stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur
59
substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We 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 common stock;
➢
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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund 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;
➢
limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
➢
other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust, up to $202,000,000 (or $232,300,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full, for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions). The underwriters will not receive any underwriting commissions on any units purchased in this offering by certain investors identified by our sponsor.
We may complete our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or
60
benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we initially intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
➢
solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or
➢
dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to complete our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
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 stockholders do not agree.
Our certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (such that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our initial stockholders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock 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
61
combination or redeem any shares, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to complete our initial business combination, we may seek to amend our certificate of incorporation or other governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to complete 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. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our certificate of incorporation or other governing instruments, including to extend the time we have to consummate an initial business combination in order to complete our initial business combination.
The provisions of our certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s pre-business combination activity, without approval by holders of a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by holders holding between 90% and 100% of the company’s public shares. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, 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 outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon; provided that amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination require a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock. In all other instances, our certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof, prior to our initial business combination, to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation. The restriction on issuing additional securities described in the prior sentence will expire upon consummation of our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own at least 20.0% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering, may participate in any vote to amend our certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our certificate of incorporation which will govern our pre-business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete our initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our certificate of incorporation.
Our sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our
62
obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our public stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors, or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.10 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.10 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.10 per share” and other risk factors in this section.
Our initial stockholders will control the election of our board of directors until consummation of our initial business combination and will exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial stockholders will own shares representing 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to appoint all of our directors and may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. Holders of our public shares will have no right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock. As a result, you will not have any influence over the election of directors prior to our initial business combination.
If our initial stockholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would
63
increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by certain of our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 10,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock (or up to 11,500,000 shares of Class A common stock if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 (or up to 8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of Class A common stock. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our initial stockholders, officers, directors or their affiliates makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to complete a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to complete a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us (except as described under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”), (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) the holders thereof (including with respect to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) are entitled to registration rights. The private placement warrants will not vote on any amendments to the warrant agreement discussed elsewhere in this prospectus.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify
64
as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include target historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the 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 financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
If:
➢
we issue additional shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share, 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
➢
the Market Value is below $9.20 per share,
then the exercise price of each warrant will be adjusted such that the effective exercise price per full share will be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per-share redemption trigger price described under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” 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 described under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” 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.
65
If we complete our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we complete our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
➢
higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;
➢
rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;
➢
complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;
➢
laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;
➢
tariffs and trade barriers;
➢
regulations related to customs and import/export matters;
➢
longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;
➢
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;
➢
cultural and language differences;
➢
employment regulations;
➢
crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;
➢
deterioration of political relations with the United States; and
➢
government appropriations of assets.
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
We may face risks related to businesses in the proprietary network communications technology.
Business combinations with businesses with proprietary network communications technology entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:
➢
if we do not develop successful new products or improve existing ones, our business will suffer;
➢
we may invest in new lines of business that could fail to attract or retain users or generate revenue;
➢
we will face significant competition and if we are not able to maintain or improve our market share, our business could suffer;
➢
the loss of one or more members of our management team, or our failure to attract and retain other highly qualified personnel in the future, could seriously harm our business;
66
➢
if our security is compromised or if our platform is subjected to attacks that frustrate or thwart our users’ ability to access our products and services, our users, advertisers, and partners may cut back on or stop using our products and services altogether, which could seriously harm our business;
➢
mobile malware, viruses, hacking and phishing attacks, spamming, and improper or illegal use of our products could seriously harm our business and reputation;
➢
if we are unable to successfully grow our user base and further monetize our products, our business will suffer;
➢
if we are unable to protect our intellectual property, the value of our brand and other intangible assets may be diminished, and our business may be seriously harmed;
➢
we may be subject to regulatory investigations and proceedings in the future, which could cause us to incur substantial costs or require us to change our business practices in a way that could seriously harm our business;
➢
components used in our products may fail as a result of a manufacturing, design, or other defect over which we have no control, and render our devices inoperable;
➢
an inability to manage rapid change, increasing consumer expectations and growth;
➢
an inability to build strong brand identity and improve subscriber or customer satisfaction and loyalty;
➢
an inability to deal with our subscribers’ or customers’ privacy concerns;
➢
an inability to license or enforce intellectual property rights on which our business may depend;
➢
an inability by us, or a refusal by third parties, to license content to us upon acceptable terms;
➢
potential liability for negligence, copyright, or trademark infringement or other claims based on the nature and content of materials that we may distribute;
➢
competition for the leisure and entertainment time and discretionary spending of subscribers or customers, which may intensify in part due to advances in technology and changes in consumer expectations and behavior; and
➢
disruption or failure of our networks, systems or technology as a result of computer viruses, “cyber-attacks,” misappropriation of data or other malfeasance, as well as outages, natural disasters, terrorist attacks, accidental releases of information or similar events.
Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and 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 surface all material issues that may be present 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
67
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 stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such security holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target, or issue a substantial number of new shares to third-parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In such cases, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders or warrant holders who choose to remain a stockholder or warrant holder following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such security holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a target business’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we
68
contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Risks Relating to our Management Team
Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of such people could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully complete our business combination is dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team. The role of members of our management team in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some members of our management team may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a target business’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Members of our management team may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Members of our management team may be able to remain with the 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. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any members of our management team will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any members of our management team will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of our management team will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her 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
69
combination and their other businesses, including other business endeavors for which he or she may be entitled to substantial compensation. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Our independent directors also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs, which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this 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. Certain of our officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, although our officers and directors (excluding independent directors) may not participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act which has publicly filed a registration statement with the SEC until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities in the future to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us.
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Management—Officers and Directors,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our 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, 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 initial stockholders, directors or officers, or any of their affiliates although we do not currently intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
Despite our agreement that, in the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their affiliates, 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 our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view, potential conflicts of interest still may exist. As a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our company and our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
70
Members of our management team may in the future be involved in governmental investigations and civil litigation relating to the business affairs of companies with which they are, were, or may in the future be, affiliated. This may negatively affect our ability to consummate an initial business combination.
Members of our management team may in the future be involved in governmental investigations and civil litigation relating to the business affairs of companies with which they are, were or may in the future be affiliated with. Any such investigations or litigations may divert our management team’s attention and resources away from searching for an initial business combination, may be detrimental to our reputation, and thus may negatively affect our ability to complete an initial business combination.
Risks Relating to our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination within the allocated time period for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond the end of such period before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
If our securities are approved for listing, Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We have been approved to list our units on Nasdaq on or promptly after the date of this prospectus and our Class A common stock and warrants on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. In general, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum of 300 public holders. Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our unrestricted securities (with at least 50% of such round-lot holders holding
71
unrestricted securities with a market value of at least $2,500). We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If Nasdaq delists any of our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect such securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
➢
a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;
➢
reduced liquidity for our securities;
➢
a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;
➢
a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and
➢
a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will qualify as covered securities under such statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under such statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified
72
under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in this offering. In such an instance, the initial purchasers and their permitted transferees (which may include our directors and officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the common stock underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying common stock. 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 shares of Class A common stock 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 their warrants.
Our initial stockholders contributed approximately $0.004 per founder share, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class A common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our initial stockholders acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution.
Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 91.8% (or $9.18 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.82 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. In addition, because of the anti-dilution rights of the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A common stock.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be 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 to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake or defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then-outstanding private placement warrants. Accordingly, we may
73
amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock 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 the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders and provided 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 public warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to 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. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us (except as set forth under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”) so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees.
In addition, unlike many other similarly structured blank check companies, we have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants 90 days after they become exercisable for $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock and provided certain other conditions are met. Please see “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00.” We would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants and pay fair market value to the warrant holders. We can also redeem the warrants for common stock when the Class A common stock is trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with fair market value in the form of shares of Class A common stock. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock is trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer shares of Class A common stock than they would have received if they had chosen to wait to exercise their warrants for shares of Class A common stock if and when the Class A common stock trades at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to the redemption described in the above paragraph. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,” in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A common stock had your warrants remained outstanding. Finally, this redemption feature provides a ceiling to the value of your warrants since it locks in the redemption price in the number of Class A common stock to be received if we choose to redeem the warrants for common stock.
Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one warrant. Because, pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares, only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given
74
time. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one whole warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of this offering is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with the underwriters with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A common stock and warrants underlying the units, include:
➢
the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies;
➢
prior offerings of those companies;
➢
our prospects for acquiring an operating business;
➢
a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions;
➢
our capital structure;
➢
an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies;
➢
general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and
➢
other factors as were deemed relevant.
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering price is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Stockholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and other events (such as terrorist attacks, natural disasters or a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases). Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered
75
board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our shares of Class B common stock, which are held by our initial stockholders, are entitled to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason, each of which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
General Risk Factors
We are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly formed company with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. 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 with our company and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders 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 common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of any second quarter of a fiscal year, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the end of such fiscal year. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but
76
any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter. 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.
Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee either (i) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or (ii) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. Our officers and directors have not had management experience with special purpose acquisition corporations in the past. You should not rely on the historical performance of our management team and their respective affiliates as an indication of the future performance of an investment in our company or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. In addition, an investment in our company is not an investment in any other entities affiliated with our management team. Furthermore, our sponsor is a newly formed entity formed for the sole purpose of holding securities of our company with no operational or historical record.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, upon the listing of our shares on Nasdaq, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq listing rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
After completion of this offering, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
•
we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under Nasdaq listing rules;
•
we have independent director oversight of executive officer compensation as outlined under Nasdaq listing rules; and
•
we have independent director oversight of director nominations.
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to
77
utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
Our certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel, which may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders.
Our certificate of incorporation will require, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against our directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and certain other actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any action (A) as to which the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination), (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery or (C) for which the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to the forum provisions in our certificate of incorporation.
This choice of forum provision may make it more costly, or limit a stockholder’s ability, to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or any of our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage lawsuits with respect to such claims. We cannot be certain that a court will decide that this provision is either applicable or enforceable, and if a court were to find the choice of forum provision contained in our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could harm our business, operating results and financial condition.
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, subject to certain exceptions. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to actions brought under the Securities Act, or the rules and regulations thereunder.
By purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock and thereby consenting to the forum provisions in our certificate of incorporation, investors will not be deemed to have waived the Company’s compliance with the federal securities law and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses will not be limited to businesses with proprietary network communications technology. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business in another industry, these risks we will be subject to risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, which may or may not be different than those risks listed above.
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
78
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 will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our 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 of 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 “NY 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 (a “NY enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such NY enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the NY 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.
79
Use of Proceeds
We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
| | | |
Without
Over-Allotment Option |
| |
Over-Allotment
Option Fully Exercised |
| ||||||
| Gross proceeds | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gross proceeds from units offered to public | | | | $ | 200,000,000 | | | | | $ | 230,000,000 | | |
|
Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the
private placement |
| | | | 8,000,000 | | | | | | 8,900,000 | | |
| Total gross proceeds | | | | $ | 208,000,000 | | | | | $ | 238,900,000 | | |
| Estimated offering expenses(1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Underwriting commissions (2% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion)(2)
|
| | | $ | 4,000,000 | | | | | $ | 4,600,000 | | |
| Legal fees and expenses | | | | | 300,000 | | | | | | 300,000 | | |
| Accounting fees and expenses | | | | | 40,000 | | | | | | 40,000 | | |
| SEC Expenses | | | | | 29,854 | | | | | | 29,845 | | |
| FINRA expenses | | | | | 35,000 | | | | | | 35,000 | | |
| Travel and road show | | | | | 20,000 | | | | | | 20,000 | | |
| Stock Exchange listing and filing fees | | | | | 75,000 | | | | | | 75,000 | | |
| Director and Officer liability insurance premiums(3) | | | | | 155,000 | | | | | | 155,000 | | |
| Printing and engraving expenses | | | | | 30,000 | | | | | | 30,000 | | |
| Miscellaneous | | | | | 65,146 | | | | | | 65,146 | | |
|
Total estimated offering expenses (excluding underwriting commissions)
|
| | | $ | 750,000 | | | | | $ | 750,000 | | |
| Proceeds after estimated offering expenses | | | | $ | 203,250,000 | | | | | $ | 233,550,000 | | |
| Held in trust account | | | | $ | 202,000,000 | | | | | $ | 232,300,000 | | |
| % of public offering size | | | | | 101% | | | | | | 101% | | |
| Not held in trust account(4) | | | | $ | 1,250,000 | | | | | $ | 1,250,000 | | |
| | |||||||||||||
80
The following table shows the use of the approximately $1,250,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account.(5)
| | | |
Amount
|
| |
% of Total
|
| |||
|
Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in
connection with any business combination |
| | | $ | 360,000 | | | |
28.8%
|
|
|
Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations
|
| | | | 150,000 | | | |
12.0%
|
|
| Payment for office space, administrative and support services | | | | | 360,000 | | | |
38.4%
|
|
|
Consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during
search for a target business |
| | | | 75,000 | | | |
6.0%
|
|
|
Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including stock exchange continued listing fees and director and officer liability insurance premiums) and reserves
|
| | | | 305,000 | | | |
14.8%
|
|
| Total | | | | $ | 1,250,000 | | | |
100.0%
|
|
(1)
A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of a loan from KINS Capital LLC of up to $300,000 as described in this prospectus. This amount will be repaid upon completion of this offering out of the $750,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) and amounts not to be held in the trust account. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. These expenses are estimates only. In the event that the offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, we may fund such excess with funds not held in the trust account.
(2)
The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, up to $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriters’ deferred commissions (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming stockholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. Certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions.
(3)
This amount represents the approximate amount of annual director and officer liability insurance premiums we anticipate paying following the completion of this offering and until we complete our initial business combination.
(4)
The amount not held in the trust account will increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price.
(5)
These expenses are estimates only. To the extent that certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price, the working capital amounts reflected below will increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions that are not paid to the underwriters. Additionally, actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify a target business in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses.
Nasdaq listing rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $202,000,000 (or $232,300,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), including up to $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be placed in a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be held as cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $202,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.1% per year; however, we can provide no assurance regarding this amount. Except with respect
81
to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation as described herein and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination.
The net proceeds held in the trust account may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we ultimately complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective acquisition, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of a business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our initial stockholders, members of our management team or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay our sponsor a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earliest of December 31, 2020, the closing of this offering and our determination to not proceed with this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2020, there was $69,854 outstanding under the note.
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our initial stockholders, officers, directors, or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as described above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial stockholders, officers, directors, or their affiliates as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
82
If we seek stockholder 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 initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of our securities that may be purchased, subject to compliance with applicable law and Nasdaq listing rules. 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. If they engage in such transactions, they will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
Our direct anchor investors have expressed to us an interest to purchase units in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such units to our direct anchor investors. There can be no assurance that our direct anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investors will retain, if any, upon the consummation of our initial business combination. In the event that such direct anchor investors purchase such units (either in this offering or after) and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that no votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. Our direct anchor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
We will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) and the agreement for our business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public stockholder will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination and then, only in connection with those public shares that such stockholder has properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this prospectus, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation as described herein and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any rights of proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the
83
substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. In addition, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor, or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. Permitted transferees of the founder shares held by our sponsor, officers and directors will be subject to the same restrictions applicable to our sponsor, officers and directors, respectively.
84
Dividend Policy
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock 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, except if we increase the size of this offering, in which case we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in an amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock upon the consummation of this offering. 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.
85
Dilution
The difference between the public offering price per share of Class A common stock, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public stockholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A common stock which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
At September 30, 2020, our net tangible book deficit was $350,959, which excludes $2,717 received subsequently from the direct anchor investors, or approximately $(0.06) per share of common stock. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 shares of Class A common stock included in the units we are offering by this prospectus, the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at September 30, 2020 would have been $5,000,008, or approximately $0.82 per share, representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of 18,938,288 shares of Class A common stock that may be redeemed for cash and assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) of $0.88 per share to our initial stockholders as of the date of this prospectus and an immediate dilution of $9.18 per share or 91.8% to our public stockholders. The dilution to new investors if the underwriters exercise the over-allotment option in full would be an immediate dilution of $9.28 per share or 9.28%.
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public stockholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants (assuming no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option):
| | | |
Without
Over-allotment |
| |
With
Over-allotment |
| ||||||
|
Public offering price
|
| | | | |
$10.00
|
| | | | |
$10.00
|
|
|
Net tangible book deficit before this offering
|
| |
(0.06)
|
| | | | |
(0.06)
|
| | | |
|
Increase attributable to public stockholders
|
| |
0.88
|
| | | | |
0.78
|
| | | |
|
Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants
|
| | | | |
0.82
|
| | | | |
0.72
|
|
|
Dilution to public stockholders
|
| | | | |
$9.18
|
| | | | |
$9.28
|
|
|
Percentage of dilution to public stockholders
|
| | | | |
91.8%
|
| | | | |
9.28%
|
|
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $191,276,709 because holders of up to approximately 94.7% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per-share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of shares of Class A common stock sold in this offering. The actual amount of shares that can be redeemed may exceed this amount so long as we satisfy the minimum net tangible asset threshold of at least $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination.
86
The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial stockholders and the public stockholders:
| | | |
Shares Purchased
|
| |
Total Consideration
|
| |
Average
Price |
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| | | |
Number
|
| |
Percentage
|
| |
Amount
|
| |
Percentage
|
| |
Per Share
|
| |||||||||||||||
| Initial stockholders(1) | | | | | 5,000,000 | | | | | | 20.0% | | | | | $ | 27,717 | | | | | | 0.01% | | | | | $ | 0.005 | | |
| Public Stockholders | | | | | 20,000,000 | | | | | | 80.0% | | | | | | 200,000,000 | | | | | | 99.99% | | | | | $ | 10.00 | | |
| | | | | | 25,000,000 | | | | | | 100.0% | | | | | $ | 200,027,717 | | | | | | 100.00% | | | | | | | | |
(1)
Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders.
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after the offering is calculated as follows (assuming no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option):
|
Numerator:
|
| |
Without
Over-allotment |
| |
With
Over-allotment |
|
|
Net tangible book deficit before this offering(1)
|
| |
$(348,242)
|
| |
$(348,242)
|
|
|
Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement
warrants |
| |
203,250,000
|
| |
233,550,000
|
|
|
Plus: Offering costs accrued for or paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value
|
| |
374,959
|
| |
374,929
|
|
|
Less: Deferred underwriting commissions
|
| |
(7,000,000)
|
| |
(8,050,000)
|
|
|
Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption
|
| |
(191,276,709)
|
| |
(220,526,713)
|
|
| | | |
$5,000,008
|
| |
$5,000,004
|
|
| Denominator: | | | | | | | |
|
Common stock outstanding prior to this offering
|
| |
5,750,000
|
| |
5,750,000
|
|
|
Common stock forfeited if over-allotment is not exercised
|
| |
(750,000)
|
| |
—
|
|
|
Common stock included in the units offered
|
| |
20,000,000
|
| |
23,000,000
|
|
|
Less: Common stock subject to redemption
|
| |
(18,938,288)
|
| |
(21,834,328)
|
|
| | | |
6,061,712
|
| |
6,697,329
|
|
(1)
Includes approximately $2,717 in proceeds from the issuance of 625,000 founder shares to the direct anchor investors in October 2020.
87
Capitalization
The following table sets forth our capitalization at September 30, 2020, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units and the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities:
| | | |
September 30, 2020
|
| |||
| | | |
Actual
|
| |
As
Adjusted(1) |
|
|
Note payable—related party(2)
|
| |
$69,854
|
| |
$—
|
|
|
Deferred underwriting commissions
|
| |
—
|
| |
7,000,000
|
|
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 18,938,288 shares subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively
|
| |
—
|
| |
191,276,709
|
|
|
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 2,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted
|
| |
—
|
| |
—
|
|
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 200,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 1,061,712 shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 18,938,288 shares subject to possible redemption), actual and as adjusted, respectively(3)
|
| |
—
|
| |
107
|
|
|
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; actual and as adjusted; 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and
as adjusted, respectively(1) |
| |
575
|
| |
500
|
|
|
Additional paid-in capital(5)
|
| |
24,425
|
| |
5,000,400
|
|
|
Accumulated deficit
|
| |
(1,000)
|
| |
(1,000)
|
|
|
Total stockholders’ equity
|
| |
$24,000
|
| |
$5,000,010
|
|
|
Total capitalization
|
| |
$24,000
|
| |
$201,276,717
|
|
(1)
Assumes the underwriters’ over-allotment option has not been exercised and the resulting forfeiture of 750,000 founder shares held by our sponsor has occurred.
(2)
Our sponsor has agreed to loan as up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of September 30, 2020, we had borrowed $69,854 under the promissory note with our sponsor.
(3)
Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 immediately prior to or upon completion of our initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed business combination. The number of shares that may be redeemed may exceed this number so long as it would not cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination.
(4)
Actual share amount is prior to any forfeiture of founder shares by our initial stockholders and as adjusted amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
(5)
The as adjusted includes approximately $2,717 in proceeds from the issuance of 625,000 founder shares to the direct anchor investors in October 2020.
88
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination with a target business. We have not selected any specific target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions directly or indirectly, with any target business regarding a business combination with our company. We intend to complete our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of cash, stock and debt.
The issuance of additional shares of our stock in a business combination:
➢
may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
➢
may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
➢
could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is 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 stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us;
➢
may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and
➢
may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants.
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or owners of a target, it could result in:
➢
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 common stock;
➢
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 common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;
89
➢
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;
➢
limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
➢
other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at September 30, 2020, we had deferred offering costs of $374,959. Further, we expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of operations and known trends or future events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination (at the earliest). We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and capital resources
Our liquidity needs have been satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through a capital contribution from our sponsor of $25,000 and, subsequent to September 30, 2020, the direct anchor investors, of an aggregate of approximately $2,717 for the founder shares and a loan to us of up to $300,000 by our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this uncertainty through this offering are discussed above. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete an initial business combination will be successful.
We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $750,000, underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 ($4,600,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of up to $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full)), and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for a purchase price of $8,000,000 (or $8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), will be $203,250,000 (or $233,550,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). Of this amount, $202,000,000 (or $232,300,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes up to $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) of deferred underwriting commissions. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting commissions on any units purchased in this offering by certain investors identified by our sponsor. The remaining approximately $1,250,000 will not be held in the trust account (the amount of such proceeds to increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price). In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the
90
event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less amounts released to us for taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes. We estimate our annual franchise tax obligations, based on the number of shares of our common stock authorized and outstanding after the completion of this offering, to be $200,000, which is the maximum amount of annual franchise taxes payable by us as a Delaware corporation per annum. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,250,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account (the amount of such proceeds to increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price). We will use these funds primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete a business combination.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $360,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses in connection with any business combination; $150,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $75,000 for consulting, travel and miscellaneous expenses incurred during the search for a target business; $360,000 for payment of service and administrative fees to our sponsor, of $20,000 per month for up to 18 months, and approximately $185,000 for working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves. These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination, which may include a specified future issuance. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our initial stockholders, officers, directors, or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial stockholders, officers, directors, or their affiliates as we do not believe
91
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.
Controls and procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control reporting requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend 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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor have our auditors tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
➢
staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties;
➢
reconciliation of accounts;
➢
proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate;
➢
evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions;
➢
documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and
➢
documentation of accounting policies and procedures.
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expenses in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent auditors to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent auditors may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
92
Related party transactions
In July 2020, we issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000. In October 2020, our sponsor forfeited 625,000 founder shares and the direct anchor investors purchased 625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share. Prior to this initial investment, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. Up to an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
Certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay our sponsor a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our initial stockholders, officers, directors or our 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.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earliest of December 31, 2020, the closing of this offering and our determination to not proceed with the offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2020, there was $69,854 outstanding under the note.
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our initial stockholders, officers or directors, may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as described above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial stockholders, officers and directors, 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.
Our direct anchor investors have expressed to us an interest to purchase units in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such units to our direct anchor investors. There can be no
93
assurance that our direct anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investors will retain, if any, upon the consummation of our initial business combination. In the event that such direct anchor investors purchase such units (either in this offering or after) and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that no votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. Our direct anchor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
In the event that we seek third-party equity financing in connection with our initial business combination, we have agreed to provide our direct anchor investors with the right to purchase shares of our Class A common stock on the terms and conditions as set forth in this prospectus under “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions”.
Our sponsor and direct anchor investors have committed to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 private placement warrants (or 8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant (approximately $8,000,000 in the aggregate or $8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement warrants, 7,019,607 private placement warrants (or 7,919,607 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and 980,393 private placement warrants will be purchased by the direct anchor investors. Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The purchasers will be permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors, and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as the sponsor. Otherwise, these warrants will not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our business combination. The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees (except as described under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”). The private placement warrants may also be exercised by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement that we will enter into with our initial stockholders on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants (and the underlying shares of Class A common stock) issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Off-balance sheet arrangements; commitments and contractual obligations; quarterly results
As of September 30, 2020, 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. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus, as we have conducted no operations to date.
94
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 will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be 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 a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of 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 CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
95
Proposed Business
Our Company
We are a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific target business and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, engaged in any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any target business with respect to an initial business combination with us. We may pursue a target business in any industry or geographic region.
Our Mission
KINS Technology Group is focused on identifying and acquiring transformative technology businesses that are shaping the digital future and creating a new paradigm of communications and computing.
The five pillars of this new paradigm are next generation connectivity, open software, edge-cloud computing, predictive data analytics, and immersive media technologies.
We believe the world is at an inflection point and these technologies will transform all vertical market segments including IT, industrial, transportation, smart infrastructure, healthcare, education, agriculture, and entertainment.
Our Management (Officers & Directors)
Our leader Mr. Khurram Sheikh has assembled a dynamic management team of industry pioneers, entrepreneurs, operating executives, and market makers who have significant public sector experiences to source the next generation of transformative technologies and applications. We are staunch believers in the power of technology and design-thinking in creating disruptive human experiences, and we are convinced that the new age of technology ushers in transformational change. The team’s diverse skill sets of creative ideation, product innovation, industry development, operational excellence, and scale engineering blend together to provide a unique view of how businesses should function in the new age of technology. The diversity of the KINS team parallels the convergence occurring in the marketplace because members of the team have wide-ranging and complementary experience that will provide a solid foundation to evaluate a range of opportunities.
Mr. Khurram Sheikh has served as our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Sheikh has been at the forefront of innovation in the technology, mobile, semiconductor, telecom and media industries for the past 25 years with CEO and CTO roles at leading technology companies. Hired as an intern at Sprint’s Advanced Technology Labs in the summer of 1996 from Stanford University, he started a project called “Broadband Wireless” that ultimately led to the world’s first 4G system deployment in 2004. As CTO for Mobile Broadband at Sprint, Mr. Sheikh and his team pioneered the adoption of MIMO and OFDM technologies as the global technology standard for 4G and built the overall ecosystem for 4G from devices to infrastructure assembling a diverse set of global vendor partners. His team was also responsible for the multi-billion dollar acquisition of 200 MHz of nationwide BRS (Broadband Radio Service) spectrum at 2.5GHz. Currently, this spectrum is the cornerstone of the combined T-Mobile-Sprint’s 5G strategy and showcases his vision and foresight. After the Sprint-Nextel merger in 2005, Mr. Sheikh was hired as employee no.1 for wireless at Time Warner Cable as VP, Wireless Strategy and Development. There, he and his team designed the first outdoor cable WiFi hot-spots that are now deployed in the millions across the country. At Time Warner, his team was also responsible for the first cable MVNO as well as the multi-billion dollar acquisition of AWS spectrum on behalf of the cable consortium Spectrum Co. From 2007 to 2013, he was the CTO for Powerwave Technologies where he built the world’s first software defined active antenna and remote radio head technology that has been deployed in millions of installations globally and was subsequently appointed as the CEO of Powerwave in 2013. In 2014, Mr. Sheikh was appointed as the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer for Silicon Image (SIMG) and the President/CEO of its millimeter wave/5G
96
subsidiary SiBEAM. SiBEAM pioneered millimeter wave RF beamforming technology using CMOS processes, and built the largest patent portfolio in the space as well as high performance semiconductor and software products for consumer, industrial, and communications markets. SIMG was acquired by Lattice Semiconductor (Nasdaq:LSCC) for $600 million after which he was appointed the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of the combined company responsible for corporate strategy, roadmap, M&A and technology development, and his team developed the core new strategy for Lattice’s edge AI applications product portfolio. From 2016 to early 2020, Mr. Sheikh was the CEO of kwikbit, a private company building a “network as a service” solution using gigabit radios, edge compute, virtualization, and artificial intelligence. Currently, he is Founder & CEO of Aijaad, a boutique strategic advisory firm where he advises both large private equity firms as well as boards of public companies on the future of 5G, IoT, Edge Computing and AI technologies and is actively involved in M&A, technology strategy and market development. Mr. Sheikh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with highest honors from the University of Engineering & Technology in Pakistan, as well as a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He has also completed advanced management courses at the Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Mr. Eric Zimits has served as our Chief Corporate Development Officer since August 2020. Mr. Zimits is also a Strategic Advisor to Netzyn, Inc., a company that has developed a distributed cloud platform that streams native applications and operating systems to any user device. Mr. Zimits has had an extensive career in the financial sector as an analyst and investor and was among the first analysts on Wall Street to identify the wireless and mobile communications opportunity, and later the internet infrastructure sector. Mr. Zimits was active in identifying, analyzing, and supporting initial public offering and follow-on public offering prospects throughout his career. He has worked on public offerings for industry pioneers including Qorvo, Checkpoint Software, F5 Networks, Proxim, and Openwave. Mr. Zimits’ years of experience tracking the communications industry teamed with his financial savvy enables him to guide portfolio companies in making sound business decisions based on a deep understanding of the marketplace. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Zimits launched research coverage of the wireless industry as a General Partner at Volpe, Welty & Company. Mr. Zimits also held analyst positions at Rauscher Pierce Refsnes and Morgan Keegan & Company. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Zimits was Managing Director and head of the Communications Research Group at Hambrecht & Quist (“H&Q”), and later Chase H&Q after the acquisition of H&Q. At H&Q, he initiated and supported numerous venture investments including Inter NAP, Sierra Wireless, Amber Networks, and Paragon Software. Following Chase H&Q, Mr. Zimits served as a Managing Director of Granite Ventures (“Granite”) from 2000 until 2016. At Granite, he focused on investing in early-stage communications, security, and software companies including RF Magic (NYSE: MXL), Speakeasy (acquired by Best Buy), Mojo Networks (acquired by Arista), Percello (acquired by Broadcom), and Localmind (acquired by Airbnb). In addition to his current role at Netzyn, he serves as advisor to early stage companies including Image Algorithmics and Nivasa. He received a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in biomedical engineering and an M.B.A. from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.
Mr. Hassan Ahmed has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Ahmed most recently served as the Chairman and CEO of Affirmed Networks which pioneered virtualization technologies for mobile 5G networks. He ran Affirmed from inception, and after nearly a decade of growth, sold the company to Microsoft in March 2020. He was chief technology officer of Cascade Communications which Ascend Communications acquired for $3.7 billion. In 1999, Lucent Technologies acquired Ascend for $24 billion where he was General Manager of the Cascade business. He served as CEO and Chairman of Sonus Networks, growing it from its very early roots to the leading company transforming telephony to IP. Sonus went public in May 2000 and had a peak market value of $15.4 billion. Mr. Ahmed currently serves on the boards of Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) and Vesper. He has also served on other several public and private boards as well as on the boards of select educational institutions. Mr. Ahmed holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Engineering from Carleton University and a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Ms. Di-Ann Eisnor has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Ms. Eisnor is an entrepreneur and executive who is currently Co-Founder and CEO of Core, a venture-backed construction labor marketplace. Ms. Eisnor had a transformative impact and helped scale Waze, Inc.,
97
a crowd-sourced navigation and real-time traffic application, owned by Alphabet, Inc. Ms. Eisnor was with Waze for 10 years, founding its U.S. office in 2009. During her tenure she oversaw user growth from 10,000 to more than 100 million. Her infrastructure and mobility work brought data and tools into 800+ cities to reduce congestion and improve emergency response times. Waze was acquired by Google in 2013 for over $1 billion. At Google, she played a key role in operationalizing the Waze integration. She culminated her work at Waze as the VP Platform and Director of Growth. Prior to joining Waze, Ms. Eisnor was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Platial Inc., a collaborative, user-generated cartographic website. Ms. Eisnor currently serves on the board of Saia Inc. (Nasdaq: SAIA) and Gray Area Foundation for the Arts. Most recently, she was an executive of The We Company, a part of the We Work Companies, from February 2019 until her departure in October 2019. She is a venture partner at Obvious Ventures and is co-founder with Lupe Fiasco of Neighborhood Start Fund, a neighborhood-based micro-fund in underserved urban neighborhoods. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art and Business Administration from New York University. She is a 2014 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Mr. Camillo Martino has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Martino was a senior global semiconductor company executive and now serves as a board member and executive advisor to many global technology companies that are focused on building high growth businesses that emphasize the convergence around wireless, IoT, cloud, edge and AI applications. Prior to his current board roles, Mr. Martino was a chief executive officer and C-suite executive of a number of high technology companies worldwide. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of MagnaChip Semiconductor (NYSE: MX) and has served on this Board since August 2016. Since 2018, he has also served on the Board of Directors at Sensera (ASX: SE1), which is focused on IoT platform solutions. Mr. Martino also serves on the Board of Directors at multiple privately-held companies, including VVDN Technologies (fastest growing ODM based in India with a focus on Wireless, Networking & IoT) and KeraCel (multi-material, multi-method 3D printing). Mr. Martino’s prior board service includes serving on the boards of Cypress Semiconductor from June 2017 through the sale of the company to Infineon in April 2020 for $10 billion and Moschip Technologies (BOM: 532407) from April 2017 to May 2019. As an operating executive, Mr. Martino served as Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Image, Inc. (where he also served as a director) from 2010 until the completion of its sale to Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: LSCC) in March 2015, Chief Operating Officer of SAI Technology Inc. from January 2008 to December 2009 (where he also served as director from 2006 to 2010), and Chief Executive Officer of Cornice Inc. from 2005 to 2007 (where he also served as a director). From August 2001 to July 2005, Mr. Martino served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Zoran Corporation, a global SoC semiconductor company. Prior to that, Mr. Martino held multiple positions with National Semiconductor Corporation for a total of nearly 14 years in four countries. Mr. Martino holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma (in Digital Communications) from Monash University in Australia.
Mr. Atif Rafiq has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Before stepping down in December 2020, Mr. Rafiq served as President of Commercial & Growth at MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), a Fortune 300 company, where he oversaw a significant portfolio of corporate functions as well as directed the company’s growth strategy. Previously, he was the Chief Digital Officer and Global CIO for Volvo, the Swedish luxury automaker and Global 250 company. He joined Volvo in January 2017 to partner with the CEO on business model and product innovation, and oversee efforts in mobility, connected cars, IoT, e-commerce, retail systems, CRM, big data, AI, and enterprise applications. From 2013 to 2017, Mr. Rafiq formulated and drove one of the largest digital transformations in the world at McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) as Senior Vice President and Global Chief Digital Officer. In four years, the company went from ideas to global rollout of initiatives such as mobile ordering, digital delivery, curbside pickup, table service and ordering, digital menu boards, personalized offers, and kiosk based self-service ordering. These initiatives have been rolled out globally as McDonald’s “store of the future,” adding billions of incremental revenue. Mr. Rafiq has been at the center of Internet and digital disruption for over 20 years, building on 15 years of experience in pure play tech companies such as Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yahoo and AOL where he led large scale, fast growing digital businesses. Mr. Rafiq was also the Founder and CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up, Covigna, which he led from inception to exit. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics-Economics from Wesleyan
98
University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. Mr. Rafiq is a social media influencer, with over 600,000 followers on Twitter and LinkedIn, and has advised and invested in over 30 startups.
Mr. Allen Salmasi has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Salmasi is a pioneer in the wireless industry with over 40 years of experience building leading edge companies. Mr. Salmasi is the CEO of Veea Inc., a provider of comprehensive full stack solutions for edge computing and communications. He is also the Chairman and CEO of NLabs Inc., a New York based family office investment firm. Mr. Salmasi serves on the boards of several companies engaged in the areas of quantum photonics, distributed hybrid edge-cloud and oncology. Prior to founding Veea in 2014, Mr. Salmasi was the Chairman, CEO and President of NextWave Wireless Inc. until its acquisition by AT&T (NYSE: ATT) in 2013. At NextWave, Mr. Salmasi and his team developed and implemented the first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) service with MCI Corp. as its first major customer, in 1996. Through 2013, Verizon Wireless, AT&T and other carriers and telecom vendors purchased NextWave assets in separate transactions for multiple billions of dollars. Prior to NextWave, he served as the President of Wireless Division, Chief Strategy Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Qualcomm, where he initiated and led the development of the cellular products business, including chipset and handset product developments and licensing and standards programs for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, and initiated the Globalstar low-earth-orbit mobile satellite communications project. Prior to Qualcomm, Mr. Salmasi was the CEO and President of Omninet Corporation, where he initiated and led the development of OmniTRACS, the world’s first and largest commercial terrestrial mobile satellite communications service for two-way messaging and position reporting services that embodied the first commercial application of CDMA. Mr. Salmasi began his career as a research engineer at NASA JPL, and holds Bachelor’s degrees and Master’s degree with honors in Electrical Engineering, Business Management and Economics from Purdue University and a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southern California.
Our Market Opportunity
The technology sector has experienced tremendous transformation in recent years. The combination of big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning, ubiquitous high speed and mobile computing have fundamentally changed the way society operates. As part of this, businesses have begun to look at digital transformation as a means to modernize their communications infrastructure and technology in order to enable improvements in operational efficiency, innovation, customer engagement and experience, and remote work/work from home (‘WFH”). A key component of this enterprise transition is the adoption of cloud-first business strategies that enable customers and employees to access applications and services, anytime and anywhere. We believe we are still in the early days of this transition with only a fraction of an enterprise’s applications / workloads shifting to the cloud.
This transformation is creating a fundamental paradigm shift in how carriers and enterprises adopt their communications infrastructure and technology stacks. Where data is processed, how data is analyzed, how individuals communicate, and how networks are designed for flexibility, amongst many other changes, are all being driven by changes in technology. The five pillars of this new paradigm are next generation connectivity, open software, edge-cloud computing, predictive data analytics, and immersive media technologies. According to industry analysts, key segments of our five technology pillars offer a current industry size of $1 trillion growing to over $3.5 trillion in aggregate by 2027.
Next Generation Connectivity
Over the past two decades, the move to broadband internet and 4G mobile broadband has fundamentally changed the technology industry and created new multi-billion dollar businesses ranging from mobile app stores to enterprise SaaS to streaming subscription services. KINS believes the industry is poised for the next stage of transformation with the emergence of next generation connectivity technologies that deliver ubiquitous networks at gigabit speeds, operate at millisecond latencies, and provide unprecedented levels of attachment density. We believe that these networks will catalyze the development of next generation of applications and services.
99
The next generation of connectivity platforms includes 5G, Wi-Fi 6, UWB, OpenRAN, SD-WAN, and SASE to deliver this new age communications experience. We expect these capabilities to disrupt traditional business models and enable new IoT services and immersive applications to monetize data traffic. KINS believes that new core technologies such as beamforming, network slicing, IoT security, and location sensing will be required to deliver these applications and services. Also, this network transformation is expected to have a profound impact on the broad technology landscape, creating opportunities beyond the boundaries of traditional network investments.
Open Software
The adoption of open source software and modern DevOps tools has transformed the software industry. These technologies are being integrated into the network, creating powerful platforms that support robust developer ecosystems and free network operators from dependence on their hardware vendors. Now, developers can utilize open source libraries, exposed APIs, and container technology to rapidly prototype and deploy applications that operate securely on shared network resources. Combined with 5G capabilities such as network slicing, open software networks will enable new applications such as V2X communications, telehealth, and real-time promotions while disrupting old business models. KINS thinks that open networks will create investment opportunities across the software stack, including middleware, integration tools, security, and applications.
Edge-Cloud Computing
The cloud has rapidly consumed server compute, storage, media (video and music) and many enterprise applications. The economics of virtual storage and compute combined with the user experience derived from unfettered data access is expected to continue to drive growth in cloud computing. However, there are trends pushing compute from large, centralized data centers toward the network edge. Real-time applications, such as industrial control, autonomous vehicles, and mixed reality, require low latency processing, and the vast amount of data generated by these sensor-based applications necessitates data “down-select” at the edge to minimize unnecessary traffic to cloud servers. Finally, the need for sustained operation and security concerns will push many mission-critical applications to on-premise edge servers. Traditional architectures are evolving to support microservices, containers, and distributed applications. Organizations will need to scale out their network as traffic patterns within and between data centers continue to change and security requirements become more demanding. KINS believes that the growth of edge computing will create new markets as enterprises and service providers look to build connected clouds (public & private) and integrate applications across the edge and core data centers.
Predictive Data Analytics
Enterprises and service providers are data wellheads. Data has traditionally resided underutilized in static domains. Increasingly, the key definer of organizational success is the ability to collect, analyze, and convert data into business intelligence. As the scale of data has exceeded human scale, organizations are deploying AIOps (artificial intelligence for IT operations) to exploit vast data sets and automate data analysis. KINS will target companies that leverage machine learning and artificial intelligence to build and deliver solutions supporting enhanced network performance, user experiences, and industrial efficiency.
Immersive Media Technologies
The explosive growth of data center and network capacity has been driven by migration of movies, TV, and music to cloud-based services. The disruption has been massive, resulting in new media platforms and the consolidation of legacy companies into media conglomerates. Through this transition, the consumer continues to value branded content, engagement, and shared experiences. Media companies will adopt technologies that deliver compelling user experiences, and are investing heavily in 3D graphics, augmented reality, and mixed reality. These same technologies are being applied to deliver innovative industrial and commercial solutions that promote efficiency and safety. KINS will target
100
companies developing the system and software infrastructure that supports the growing immersive media opportunity including applications that apply to industry, training, and education.
Current Market Environment
Over the past several months, COVID-19 has acted as an accelerant to all of these existing trends as companies seek to cut costs and prepare for a more distributed workforce. Worldwide, companies have rapidly transitioned to a WFH environment with many companies planning to continue remote work following the pandemic. This trend is driving demand for deep connectivity and transformational leaps in technological capabilities. At the same time, multi-national companies are reimagining their supply chains and reshoring significant portions of their logistic requirements to cater for the exploding consumer trend to have all items shipped to their homes.
This dislocation has presented a number of transformational opportunities to catalyze growth. In the near-term, increased online traffic from consumers working and shopping from home is driving the need for additional services and a heightened importance of network security and trust in vendors. However, there is an expected permanent increase in IT spend to enable a more distributed workforce, including the necessity of edge and distributed computing requirements, accelerated transitions to cloud deployments, and continued increase in network traffic.
Another key trend is that enterprises are looking for new revenue streams and business models in this new environment, and our technology pillars will be key to enabling those opportunities.
According to industry analysts, key segments of our five technology pillars offer a current industry size of $1 trillion growing to over $3.5 trillion in aggregate by 2027.
Our Business Strategy
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines to evaluate prospective target businesses. We may, however, decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to seek to acquire one or more businesses that we believe:
•
have differentiated, transformational technology with a focus on next generation network and communications technologies;
•
operate within a significant and growing addressable market with runway for further growth;
•
have a validated business model, ability to scale, and have already gained a foothold in their markets;
•
have a rapid growth and sustainable profit margin profile;
•
are ready to operate in the scrutiny of public markets, with strong management, corporate governance and reporting policies in place;
•
will likely be well received by public investors and are expected to have continued access to the public capital markets;
•
have a proven and sophisticated management team with a track record and ability to create long-term shareholder value; and
•
will provide attractive return for shareholders with reasonable and appropriate valuation expectations and significant remaining upside.
These criteria and guidelines are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general criteria and guidelines as well as other considerations, factors, criteria, and guidelines that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria and guidelines in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this prospectus, would be in the form of proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC.
101
Initial business combination
Nasdaq listing rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% fair market value test. 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 another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own or acquire shares will own or acquire 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders or for other reasons. However, we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in our initial business combination transaction. 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 of a target or issue a substantial number of new shares to third parties in connection with financing our initial business combination. In such cases, 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 stockholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If our initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us. We will also utilize our operational and capital allocation experience.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their affiliates, 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 our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team will directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining
102
whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties to one or more other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. For more information, see the section entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability complete our business combination. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Status as a public company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
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 this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter; and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
103
Additionally, we will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $250 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the end of that year’s second fiscal quarter.
Financial position
With funds held in trust available for a business combination initially in the amount of $195,000,000, after payment of up to $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $224,250,000 after payment of up to $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting our initial business combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to complete our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital.
Our officers and directors are from time to time made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue, for a business combination, but we have not (nor has anyone on our behalf) contacted any prospective target business or had any substantive discussions, formal or otherwise, with respect to a business combination transaction with us.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity in connection with the completion of our initial business combination (which may include a specified future issuance), and we may complete our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by applicable law or we decide to do so for business or other reasons, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, including pursuant to any specified future issuance, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise.
The 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
104
any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our 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.
Sources of target businesses
Nasdaq listing rules require that an initial business combination must be with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account). We refer to this as the 80% fair market value test. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation or value of comparable businesses. 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 another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. We do not currently intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination, although there is no assurance that will be the case. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If less than 100% of the outstanding equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired by us is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete 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 of the significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information that will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business.
Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations
105
and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we initially intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our 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 intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is presently unknown if any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our 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. The determination as to whether any members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following our initial business combination, to the extent that we deem it necessary, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management team 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.
Stockholders may not have the ability to approve our initial business combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
|
Type of Transaction
|
| |
Whether
Stockholder Approval is Required |
| |||
| Purchase of assets | | | | | No | | |
| Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company | | | | | No | | |
| Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company | | | | | No | | |
| Merger of the company with a target | | | | | Yes | | |
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
➢
we issue (other than in a public offering for cash) shares of common stock that will either (a) be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of common stock then issued and outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then issued and outstanding;
106
➢
any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present of potential issuance of shares of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding shares of common stock or voting power of 5% or more; or
➢
the issuance or potential issuance of shares of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rule will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and other reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
➢
the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder 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 stockholder vote;
➢
the risk that the stockholders 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 stockholders.
Permitted purchases of, and other transactions with respect to, our securities
In the event we seek stockholder 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 initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of securities such persons may purchase. 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 initial stockholders, directors, 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. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such purchases or other transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such purchases or other transactions. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. Such persons will be subject to restrictions in making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. We will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to (1) refrain from purchasing our securities during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (2) clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
107
In the event that our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase public shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling stockholders 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) vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, (ii) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (iii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such transactions 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 common stock or warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
It is likely that our initial stockholders, officers, directors, and/or their affiliates would identify the stockholders with whom they may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the stockholders contacting us or them directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders (in the case of public shares) following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our initial stockholders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination. Such persons would select the stockholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public stockholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors, and/or any of their respective affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be restricted unless such purchases are made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors, and/or any of their respective affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of common stock if such purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act.
Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.10 per public share. The per-share
108
amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that 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. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of conducting redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. Except as required by applicable law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders 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 stockholder approval under stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our certificate of incorporation would typically require stockholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business combination.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our certificate of incorporation:
➢
conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and
➢
file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our initial stockholders will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event that 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 stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our initial stockholders, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our certificate of incorporation:
109
➢
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 stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our sponsor, officers and directors will count toward this quorum and have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to their founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). However, because we generally only need a majority of the outstanding shares to be voted in favor of a proposed business combination to have such transaction approved, the number of public shares needed to be voted in favor of any transaction decreases as the overall number of public shares voted decreases. Accordingly, we would need only 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction if only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). In addition, as a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our sponsor, officers and directors, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all.
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
Limitation on redemption upon completion of our initial business combination if we seek stockholder approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as
110
a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to any Excess Shares owned by them, without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders 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 stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders 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, our certificate of incorporation does not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering stock certificates in connection with a stockholder meeting
If we seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The proxy materials that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements, which may include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our proxy materials until up to two business days prior to the vote on the business combination to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by some blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, some blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the stockholders’ 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 stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder 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 stock 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 stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder 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 holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
111
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or two business days prior to the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable (unless we elect to allow additional withdrawal rights. 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 stockholders 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 different business combination until 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
Our certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only 18 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware 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 complete our initial business combination within the allotted time period.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and the direct anchor investors have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time period. However, if they acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time period.
Our sponsor, officers, and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us (filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part), that they will not propose any amendment to our certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised
112
with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above) we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,250,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account (the amount of such proceeds to increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price), although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this 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 and any tax payments or expenses for dissolution of the trust, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be $10.10. 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 stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.10. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, 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. Our independent registered public accounting firm will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, nor will the underwriters of this offering.
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. 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, or by a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all
113
rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this 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, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor, which is a newly formed entity, has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.10 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 public share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers 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 (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, 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 if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we believe it is unlikely our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. 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 $10.10 per public share.
We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except 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 monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,250,000 from the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants (the amount of such proceeds to increase proportionally with the amount of underwriting discounts and commissions not paid to the underwriters in the event certain investors identified by the sponsor purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price) with which to pay any such potential claims. In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $750,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $750,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it,
114
including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.
Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination within the required time period, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the end of our acquisition period and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (except for our independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this 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.
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 stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.10 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file
115
a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders 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 stockholders. 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, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders 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 stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only on the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination and then, only in connection with those public shares that such stockholder has properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this prospectus, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we have not completed our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. Holders of warrants will not have any rights of proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants.
Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our initial business combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
| | | | |
Redemptions in
Connection with our Initial Business Combination |
| |
Other Permitted
Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates |
| |
Redemptions if we
fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
|
| |
Calculation of redemption price
|
| | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. The redemption price will be the same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a stockholder vote. In either case, our public stockholders may redeem their | | | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their respective affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will be restricted except to the | | | If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will redeem all public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public | |
116
| | | | |
Redemptions in
Connection with our Initial Business Combination |
| |
Other Permitted
Purchases of Public Shares by our Affiliates |
| |
Redemptions if we
fail to Complete an Initial Business Combination |
|
| | | | | public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 following such redemptions, and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | | | extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. | | | share), including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable, and less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. | |
| | Impact to remaining stockholders | | | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining stockholders, who will bear the burden of the interest withdrawn in order to pay our taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account). | | | If the permitted purchases described above are made, there will be no impact to our remaining stockholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | | | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial stockholders, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. | |
117
Comparison of this offering to those of blank check companies subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| | | | |
Terms of Our Offering
|
| |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
|
|
| |
Escrow of offering proceeds
|
| | $202,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a U.S.-based trust account, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | | | Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds would be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | |
| |
Investment of net proceeds
|
| | $202,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be held as cash or invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | | | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | |
| |
Receipt of interest on escrowed funds
|
| | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to stockholders is reduced by (i) any taxes paid or payable; and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | | | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. | |
| |
Limitation on fair
value or net assets of target business |
| | Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination. | | | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | |
118
| | | | |
Terms of Our Offering
|
| |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
|
|
| |
Trading of securities issued
|
| | The units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the Representatives informs us of their decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, an additional or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. | | | No trading of the units or the underlying Class A common stock and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. | |
| |
Exercise of the warrants
|
| | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering. | | | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. | |
| |
Election to remain an investor
|
| | We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements to hold a stockholder vote. If we are not required by | | | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if it elects to remain a stockholder of the company or require the return of its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are | |
119
| | | | |
Terms of Our Offering
|
| |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
|
|
| | | | | applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and do not otherwise decide to hold a stockholder vote, we will, pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, we hold a stockholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. | | | automatically returned to the stockholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. | |
| |
Business combination deadline
|
| | If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18-months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the | | | If an acquisition has not been completed within 18 months after the effective date of the company’s registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. | |
120
| | | | |
Terms of Our Offering
|
| |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
|
|
| | | | | funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. | | | | |
| |
Release of funds
|
| | Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (a) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (b) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we have not completed a business combination within the allotted time frame (subject to the requirements | | | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. | |
121
| | | | |
Terms of Our Offering
|
| |
Terms Under a Rule 419 Offering
|
|
| | | | | of applicable law). Stockholders who do not exercise their rights to the funds in connection with an amendment to our certificate of incorporation would still have rights to the funds in connection with a subsequent business combination. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public stockholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. | | | | |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders 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.
Facilities
Our executive offices are located at Four Palo Alto Square, Suite 200, 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306 and our telephone number is 650-575-4456. The cost for this space is included in the $20,000 per month fee that we will pay our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial 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.
122
Periodic reporting and financial information
We will register our units, Class A common stock 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 will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with GAAP and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with PCAOB standards. We cannot assure you that any particular target business selected by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP and PCAOB standards or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with GAAP and PCAOB standards. To the extent that this requirement cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 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 be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements 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.
Legal proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
123
Management
Officers and directors
Our officers and directors are as follows:
|
Name
|
| |
Age
|
| |
Position
|
|
| Khurram Sheikh | | |
49
|
| | Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer | |
| Eric Zimits | | |
60
|
| | Secretary and Chief Corporate Development Officer | |
| Hassan Ahmed | | |
62
|
| | Director | |
| Di-Ann Eisnor | | |
48
|
| | Director | |
| Camillo Martino | | |
58
|
| | Director | |
| Atif Rafiq | | |
47
|
| | Director | |
| Allen Salmasi | | |
66
|
| | Director | |
Mr. Khurram Sheikh has served as our Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since our inception and Chief Financial Officer since August 2020. Mr. Sheikh has been at the forefront of innovation in the technology, mobile, semiconductor, telecom and media industries for the past 25 years with CEO and CTO roles at leading technology companies. Since March 2020, Mr. Sheikh has been the Founder, Executive Chairman & CEO of Aijaad, a boutique strategic advisory firm where he advises both large private equity firms as well as boards of public companies on the future of 5G, IoT, Edge Computing and AI technologies and is actively involved in M&A, technology strategy and market development. From 2016 to early 2020, Mr. Sheikh was the CEO of kwikbit, a private company building a “network as a service” solution using gigabit radios, edge compute, virtualization, and artificial intelligence. Prior to kwikbit, in 2014, Mr. Sheikh was appointed as the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer for Silicon Image (SIMG) and the President/CEO of its millimeter wave/5G subsidiary SiBEAM. SIMG was acquired by Lattice Semiconductor (Nasdaq:LSCC) in 2015 for $600 million after which Mr. Sheikh was appointed the Chief Strategy and Technology Officer of the combined company responsible for corporate strategy, roadmap, M&A and technology development and was there until 2016. From 2007 onwards, he was the CTO for Powerwave Technologies, a large wireless infrastructure vendor. Powerwave filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2013, and in April 2013 Mr. Sheikh was appointed as the CEO of Powerwave to help with the sale of the company. Later that year, Mr. Sheikh successfully facilitated the sale of approximately 1,400 patents owned by Powerwave to private equity firm Gores Group. From 2005 to 2007, Mr. Sheikh was Vice President, Wireless Strategy and Development at Time Warner Cable leading the cable company’s entry into the wireless space. From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Sheikh held senior technology roles at Sprint including CTO Mobile Broadband responsible for deploying the world’s first 4G system and acquisition of multi-billion dollar spectrum assets at 2.5GHz. Mr. Sheikh holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering with highest honors from the University of Engineering & Technology in Pakistan, as well as a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Mr. Sheikh is well qualified to serve as Chairman of our board because of his extensive experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies and his extensive professional experience.
Mr. Eric Zimits has served as our Chief Corporate Development Officer since August 2020. Since 2016, Mr. Zimits has served as a Strategic Advisor to Netzyn, Inc., a company that has developed a distributed cloud platform that streams native applications and operating systems to any user device. In addition to his current role at Netzyn, he serves as advisor to early stage companies including Image Algorithmics and Nivasa. Prior to Netzyn, Mr. Zimits served as a Managing Director of Granite Ventures from 2000 until 2016. At Granite, he focused on investing in early-stage communications, security, and software companies including RF Magic (NYSE: MXL), Speakeasy (acquired by Best Buy), Mojo Networks (acquired by Arista), Percello (acquired by Broadcom), and Localmind (acquired by Airbnb). From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Zimits was Managing Director and head of the Communications Research Group at Hambrecht & Quist, and later ChaseH&Q after the acquisition of H&Q. At H&Q, he initiated and supported numerous venture investments including InterNAP, Sierra Wireless, Amber Networks, and Paragon Software. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Zimits was a General Partner at Volpe, Welty & Company.
124
Before that, he held analyst positions at Rauscher Pierce Refsnes and Morgan Keegan & Company. Mr. Zimits received a Bachelor’s degree from Purdue University in biomedical engineering and an M.B.A. from Tulane University’s A.B. Freeman School of Business.
Mr. Hassan Ahmed has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Ahmed most recently served as the Chairman and CEO of Affirmed Networks, which pioneered virtualization technologies for mobile, especially 5G, networks, from inception until the company was sold to Microsoft in March 2020. Before that, he was chief technology officer of Cascade Communications, which Ascend Communications acquired in 1997. Prior to Cascade, Mr. Ahmed served as CEO and Chairman of Sonus Networks. Mr. Ahmed currently serves on the board of Ciena Corp. (NYSE: CIEN) and Vesper. Mr. Ahmed holds Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Engineering from Carleton University and a Ph.D in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. Mr. Ahmed is well qualified to serve on our board because of his extensive experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies and his extensive professional experience.
Ms. Di-Ann Eisnor has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Since November 2019, Ms. Eisnor has served as Co-Founder and CEO of Core, a venture-backed construction labor marketplace. Before that, from February 2019 until October 2019, she was an executive of The We Company, a part of the We Work Companies, where she was responsible for development of their cities platform. Prior to that, Ms. Eisnor served as Director of Urban Systems at Google, from June 2018 until February 2019. Previously, Ms. Eisnor was with Waze, Inc., a crowd-sourced navigation and real-time traffic application owned by Alphabet, Inc., for 10 years, most recently serving as the VP Platform and Director of Growth. Prior to joining Waze, Ms. Eisnor was co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Platial Inc., a collaborative, user-generated cartographic website. Ms. Eisnor currently serves on the board of Saia Inc. (Nasdaq: SAIA) and Gray Area Foundation for the Arts. She is a venture partner at Obvious Ventures and is co-founder with Lupe Fiasco of Neighborhood Start Fund, a neighborhood-based micro-fund in underserved urban neighborhoods. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art and Business Administration from New York University. She is a 2014 Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. Ms. Eisnor is well qualified to serve on our board because of her extensive experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies and her extensive professional experience.
Mr. Camillo Martino has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Mr. Martino was a senior global semiconductor company executive and now serves as a board member and executive advisor to many global technology companies. Prior to his current board roles, Mr. Martino was a chief executive officer and C-suite executive of a number of high technology companies worldwide. He is currently Chairman of the Board of Directors of MagnaChip Semiconductor (NYSE: MX) and has served on this Board since August 2016. Since 2018, he has also served on the Board of Directors at Sensera (ASX: SE1), which is focused on IoT platform solutions. Mr. Martino also serves on the Board of Directors at multiple privately-held companies, including VVDN Technologies (fastest growing ODM based in India with a focus on Wireless, Networking & IoT) and KeraCel (multi-material, multi-method 3D printing). Mr. Martino’s prior board service includes serving on the boards of Cypress Semiconductor from June 2017 through the sale of the company to Infineon in April 2020 and Moschip Technologies (BOM: 532407) from April 2017 to May 2019. As an operating executive, Mr. Martino served as Chief Executive Officer of Silicon Image, Inc. (where he also served as a director) from 2010 until the completion of its sale to Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: LSCC) in March 2015, Chief Operating Officer of SAI Technology Inc. from January 2008 to December 2009 (where he also served as director from 2006 to 2010), and Chief Executive Officer of Cornice Inc. from 2005 to 2007 (where he also served as a director). From August 2001 to July 2005, Mr. Martino served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer at Zoran Corporation, a global SoC semiconductor company. Prior to that, Mr. Martino held multiple positions with National Semiconductor Corporation for a total of nearly 14 years. Mr. Martino holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma (in Digital Communications) from Monash University in Australia. Mr. Martino is well qualified to serve on our board because of his extensive experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies and his extensive professional experience.
125
Mr. Atif Rafiq has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Since May 2019 until December 2020, Mr. Rafiq served as President of Commercial & Growth at MGM Resorts (NYSE: MGM), a global hospitality and entertainment company. Previously, from January 2017 until May 2019, he was the Chief Digital Officer and Global CIO for Volvo, the Swedish luxury automaker. Before Volvo, from 2013 to 2017, Mr. Rafiq served as Senior Vice President and Global Chief Digital Officer at McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD). Before McDonald’s Mr. Rafiq held roles at Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), Yahoo and AOL. Mr. Rafiq was also the Founder and CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up, Covigna, which he led from inception to exit. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics-Economics from Wesleyan University and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago. Mr. Rafiq is well qualified to serve on our board because of his extensive professional experience in the technology sector.
Mr. Allen Salmasi has served as a member of our Board of Directors since August 2020. Since March 2014, Mr. Salmasi has served as CEO of Veea Inc., a provider of comprehensive full stack solutions for edge computing and communications. Since February 2013, he has also served as Chairman and CEO of NLabs Inc., a New York based family office investment firm. Prior to founding Veea in 2014, Mr. Salmasi was the Chairman, CEO and President of NextWave Wireless Inc. until its acquisition by AT&T (NYSE: ATT) in 2013. Prior to NextWave, he served as the President of Wireless Division, Chief Strategy Officer and a member of the Board of Directors at Qualcomm. Prior to Qualcomm, Mr. Salmasi was the CEO and President of Omninet Corporation. Mr. Salmasi began his career as a research engineer at NASA JPL, and holds Bachelor’s degrees and Master’s degree with honors in Electrical Engineering, Business Management and Economics from Purdue University and a Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Southern California. Mr. Salmasi is well qualified to serve on our board because of his experience advising boards of directors of public and private companies and his extensive professional experience.
Number and terms of office of officers and directors
We intend to have six directors upon completion of this offering. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Di-Ann Eisnor and Atif Rafiq, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Allen Salmasi and Hassan Ahmed, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Camillo Martino and Khurram Sheikh, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of our initial business combination, holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of one or more Chairmen of the Board, one or more Chief Executive Officers, a President, a Chief Financial Officer, Chief Investment Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company
126
or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship with the company which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, could interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we expect to have “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq’s listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our board of directors has determined that each of Hassan Ahmed, Di-Ann Eisnor, Camillo Martino, Atif Rafiq and Allen Salmasi are “independent directors” as defined in the Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our audit committee will be entirely composed of independent directors meeting Nasdaq’s additional requirements applicable to members of the audit committee. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and director compensation
None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, except that at the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay a customary financial consulting fee to our initial stockholders, officers and directors, which will not be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination. We may pay such financial consulting fee in the event such party or parties provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such financial consulting fee we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed 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 will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
Following a business combination, to the extent we deem it necessary, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management team 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.
Committees of the board of directors
Following the consummation of this offering, our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating committee. Nasdaq rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act generally require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and Nasdaq rules generally require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate
127
under a charter that will be approved by our board of directors and will have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee will be available on our website following the consummation of this offering.
Audit committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish an audit committee of the board of directors. Each of Camillo Martino, Hassan Ahmed and Di-Ann Eisnor will serve as members of our audit committee. Camillo Martino will serve as chair of the audit committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Camillo Martino, Hassan Ahmed and Di-Ann Eisnor meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Camillo Martino qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
➢
assisting board oversight of (1) the integrity of our financial statements, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) our independent auditor’s qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance of our internal audit function and independent auditors;
➢
the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;
➢
pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;
➢
reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence;
➢
setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors;
➢
setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
➢
obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (i) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues;
➢
meeting to review and discuss our annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor, including reviewing our specific disclosures under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”;
➢
reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and
➢
reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding
128
our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.
Compensation committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish a compensation committee of the board of directors. Di-Ann Eisnor, Camillo Martino and Allen Salmasi will serve as members of our compensation committee. Di-Ann Eisnor will serve as chair of the compensation committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Di-Ann Eisnor, Camillo Martino and Allen Salmasi meet the independent director standard under Nasdaq listing standards applicable to members of the compensation committee.
We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
➢
reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;
➢
reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation of all of our other officers;
➢
reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans;
➢
implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;
➢
assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;
➢
approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;
➢
if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and
➢
reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, other than reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our initial stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to complete the consummation of a business combination, except that at the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay a customary financial consulting fee, which will not be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination. We may pay such financial consulting fee in the event such party or parties provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such financial consulting fee we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
129
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating Committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish a nominating committee of the board of directors, which will consist of Atif Rafiq, Allen Salmasi and Hassan Ahmed, each of whom is an independent director under Nasdaq listing standards. Atif Rafiq will serve as chair of the nominating committee. The nominating committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The nominating committee considers persons identified by its members, management, stockholders, investment bankers and others.
Guidelines for Selecting Director Nominees
The guidelines for selecting nominees, which are specified in the nominating committee charter, generally provide that persons to be nominated:
➢
should have demonstrated notable or significant achievements in business, education or public service;
➢
should possess the requisite intelligence, education and experience to make a significant contribution to the board of directors and bring a range of skills, diverse perspectives and backgrounds to its deliberations; and
➢
should have the highest ethical standards, a strong sense of professionalism and intense dedication to serving the interests of the stockholders.
The nominating committee will consider a number of qualifications relating to management and leadership experience, background and integrity and professionalism in evaluating a person’s candidacy for membership on the board of directors. The nominating committee may require certain skills or attributes, such as financial or accounting experience, to meet specific board needs that arise from time to time and will also consider the overall experience and makeup of its members to obtain a broad and diverse mix of board members. The nominating committee will not distinguish among nominees recommended by stockholders and other persons.
Compensation committee interlocks and insider participation
None of our officers currently serves, and in the past year have not served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of ethics
Prior to the closing of this offering, we will adopt a Code of Ethics and Business Conduct (our “Code of Ethics”) applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We have filed a copy of our form of our Code of Ethics as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. You will be able to review this document by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and on our website. In addition, a copy of our Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. 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. Please see “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Conflicts of interest
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 pursuant to which such officer or director is or will
130
be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entities. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors are also 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.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability complete our business combination. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our sponsor, officers and directors (excluding independent directors) have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act which has publicly filed a registration statement with the SEC until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
➢
None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities.
➢
In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
➢
Our sponsor, officers, directors and the direct anchor investors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our sponsor, officers, directors and the direct anchor investors have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 18 months after the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, 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. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such allotted time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our initial stockholders until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. With certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants, the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A common stock underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor or the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our officers and directors may
131
directly or indirectly own common stock and warrants following this offering, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to complete our initial business combination.
➢
Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
➢
Our officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from them or their affiliates to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
In general, officers and directors of a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware are required to present business opportunities to a corporation if:
➢
the corporation could financially undertake the opportunity;
➢
the opportunity is within the corporation’s line of business; and
➢
it would not be fair to the corporation and its stockholders for the opportunity not to be brought to the attention of the corporation.
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
132
|
Individual
|
| |
Entity
|
| |
Entity’s Business
|
| |
Affiliation
|
|
| Khurram Sheikh | | | Aijaad | | | Strategic Advisory Firm | | | Founder & CEO | |
| Eric Zimits | | | Netzyn, Inc. | | | Network Solutions | | | Strategic Advisor | |
| Hassan Ahmed | | |
Vesper
Ciena Corp. |
| |
MEMS
Telecommunications |
| |
Member of the Board
Member of the Board |
|
| Di-Ann Eisnor | | | byCore | | | Construction Labor Market | | | Co-Founder & CEO | |
| | | | Saia Inc. | | | Freight Shipping | | | Member of the Board | |
| | | | Gray Area Foundation for the Arts | | | Nonprofit Organization | | | Member of the Board | |
| | | | Obvious Ventures | | | Investment Firm | | | Venture Partner | |
| Camillo Martino | | |
MagnaChip Semiconductor
Sensera Ltd. VVDN Technologies Pvt. Ltd. KeraCel Inc. |
| |
Semiconductors
IoT Solutions Wireless Networking Multi-material 3D Printing |
| |
Chairman
Member of the Board Member of the Board Member of the Board |
|
| Atif Rafiq | | | MGM Resorts International | | | Hospitality | | | President of Commercial and Growth | |
| Allen Salmasi | | |
Veea Inc.
NLabs Inc. Ostendo, Inc OncoSynergy Inc Mimik Inc |
| |
Edge Computing
Investment Firm Quantum Computing Oncology Hybrid Edge Applications |
| |
Founder & CEO
Chairman & CEO Member of the Board Chairman Member of the Board |
|
Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for one or more entities to which he or she has fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties, he or she will honor these obligations and duties to present such business combination opportunity to such entities first, and only present it to us if such entities reject the opportunity and he or she determines to present the opportunity to us. 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.
We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary, contractual or other obligations or duties of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers, or directors, or any of their respective affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their affiliates, 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 our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on liability and indemnification of officers and directors
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that our officers and directors will be indemnified by us to the fullest extent authorized by Delaware law, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. In addition, our certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be personally liable for
133
monetary damages to us or our stockholders for breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such exemption from liability or limitation thereof is not permitted by the DGCL.
We will enter into agreements with our officers and directors to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also will permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director or employee for any liability arising out of his or her actions, regardless of whether Delaware law would permit such indemnification. We will 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.
A stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
134
Principal Stockholders
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our common stock included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
➢
each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;
➢
each of our executive officers and directors; and
➢
all our executive officers and directors upon completion of this offering as a group.
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock 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 prospectus.
The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor forfeits an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares and that there are 25,000,000 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding after this offering. The table does not reflect any units that may be purchased in this offering, including through the directed unit program, as described under “Underwriting—Directed Unit Program.”
| | | |
Before Offering
|
| |
After Offering
|
| ||||||||||||||||||
|
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1)
|
| |
Number
of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) |
| |
Approximate
Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock |
| |
Number
of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) |
| |
Approximate
Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock(2) |
| ||||||||||||
| KINS Capital LLC(3) | | | | | 5,125,000 | | | | | | 89.1% | | | | | | 4,375,000 | | | | | | 17.5% | | |
| BlackRock, Inc.(4) | | | | | 625,000 | | | | | | 10.9% | | | | | | 625,000 | | | | | | 2.5% | | |
| Khurram Sheikh(3) | | | | | 5,125,000 | | | | | | 89.1% | | | | | | 4,375,000 | | | | | | 17.5% | | |
| Eric Zimits | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
| Hassan Ahmed | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
| Di-Ann Eisnor | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
| Camillo Martino | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
| Atif Rafiq | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
| Allen Salmasi | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
All executive officers and directors as a group (7 individuals)
|
| | | | 5,125,000 | | | | | | 89.1% | | | | | | 4,375,000 | | | | | | 17.5% | | |
*
less than 1%.
(1)
Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o KINS Technology Group Inc., Four Palo Alto Square, 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94306.
(2)
Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities.”
(3)
KINS Capital LLC, our sponsor, is the record holder of the Class B common stock reported herein. The managing member of the sponsor is a limited liability company whose managing member is Mr. Sheikh. As such, Mr. Sheikh may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. Each of our independent directors is, directly or indirectly, a non-managing member of our sponsor.
135
(4)
Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. The registered holders of the referenced shares are funds and accounts under management by BlackRock, Inc. BlackRock, Inc. is the ultimate parent holding company of such funds and accounts. On behalf of such funds and accounts, the applicable portfolio managers, as managing directors of such entities, have voting and investment power over the shares held by the funds and accounts which are the registered holders of the referenced shares. Such portfolio managers expressly disclaim beneficial ownership of all shares held by such funds and accounts. The address of such funds and accounts and such portfolio managers is 55 East 52nd Street, New York, NY 10055.
Immediately after this offering, our initial stockholders will beneficially own 20.0% of the then-issued and outstanding shares of our common stock (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Each of our officers and directors is, directly or indirectly, a member of our sponsor, and of which Khurram P. Sheikh, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. Because of this ownership block, our initial stockholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our stockholders, including the election of directors, amendments to our certificate of incorporation and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination and (B) not to redeem any shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or amendment to our certificate of incorporation. Our direct anchor investors have expressed to us an interest to purchase units in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such units to our direct anchor investors. There can be no assurance that our direct anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investors will retain, if any, upon the consummation of our initial business combination. In the event that such direct anchor investors purchase such units (either in this offering or after) and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that no votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. Our direct anchor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
Our officers and sponsor are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Restrictions on transfers of founder shares and private placement warrants
The founder shares and private placement warrants and any shares of Class A common stock issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in a letter agreement with us to be entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors (or a subscription agreement in the case of each of the direct anchor investors). Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants, the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A common stock underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) to our initial
136
stockholders, officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our initial stockholders, officers or directors or any affiliate of our initial stockholders, officers or directors, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family, to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; (g) by virtue of the laws of Delaware or the Sponsor’s limited liability company agreement, as amended, upon dissolution of the Sponsor; (h) in the event of the completion of our liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Common Stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination; or (i) in the case of the direct anchor investors, to such investors’ affiliates, or any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by such investors, or to any investment manager or investment advisor of the direct anchor investors or an affiliate of any such investment manager or investment advisor; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement and by the same agreements entered into by our initial stockholders with respect to such securities (including provisions relating to voting, the trust account and liquidation distributions described elsewhere in this prospectus).
Expressions of Interest
Our direct anchor investors have expressed to us an interest to purchase units in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such units to our direct anchor investors. There can be no assurance that our direct anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investors will retain, if any, upon the consummation of our initial business combination. In the event that such direct anchor investors purchase such units (either in this offering or after) and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that no votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders.
Our direct anchor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
Additionally, certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors. In the event these investors purchase the units described above, such investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
137
Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions
In July 2020, we issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000, we had no assets, tangible or intangible. In October 2020, our sponsor forfeited 625,000 founder shares and the direct anchor investors purchased 625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering. Up to an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares are subject to forfeiture by our initial stockholders depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. The founder shares (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our sponsor and the direct anchor investors have committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 (or 8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Among the private placement warrants, 7,019,607 private placement warrants (or 7,919,607 private placement warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) will be purchased by our sponsor and 980,393 private placement warrants will be purchased by the direct anchor investors. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at between $7,019,607 and $7,919,607, depending on the number of private placement warrants purchased. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. The private placement warrants (and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our founder shares or warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our business combination within the 18-month time period or during any Extension Period.
We will enter into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will also pay our sponsor a total of $20,000 per month for office space, administrative and support services. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. Accordingly, in the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes 18 months, our sponsor will be paid a total of $360,000 ($20,000 per month) for office space, administrative and support services and will be entitled to be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination, except that at the closing of our initial business combination, we may pay any of such individuals or entities a customary financial consulting fee, which will not be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination. We may pay such financial consulting fee in the event such party or parties provide us with specific target company, industry, financial or market expertise, as well as insights, relationships, services or resources in order to assess, negotiate and consummate an initial business combination. The amount of any such financial consulting fee we pay will be based upon the prevailing market for similar services for comparable transactions at such time, and will be subject to the review of our audit committee pursuant to the audit committee’s policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present conflicts of interest. We would disclose any such fee in the proxy or tender offer materials used in connection with a proposed 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.
138
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our initial stockholders, officers, directors or our 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.
Our direct anchor investors have expressed to us an interest to purchase units in this offering and we have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such units to our direct anchor investors. There can be no assurance that our direct anchor investors will acquire any units in this offering or what amount of equity our anchor investors will retain, if any, upon the consummation of our initial business combination. In the event that such direct anchor investors purchase such units (either in this offering or after) and vote them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that no votes from other public stockholders would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction. As a result of the founder shares and private placement warrants that our direct anchor investors may hold (directly or indirectly), they may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public stockholders. Our direct anchor investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
Additionally, in the event that we seek third-party equity financing in connection with our initial business combination, we have agreed to provide our direct anchor investors with the right to purchase an aggregate of 4 million shares of our Class A common stock and up to an aggregate of an additional 35% of any other shares of Class A common stock being issued with a maximum aggregate investment amount of $200 million (or such lesser amount of third-party equity financing as we determine to seek) on customary terms, but in no event with an aggregate discount less than $10 million.
Additionally, certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors. In the event these investors purchase the units described above, such investors will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the common stock underlying the units they may purchase in this offering as the rights afforded to our public stockholders.
Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. This loan is non-interest bearing, unsecured and is due at the earliest of December 31, 2020, the closing of this offering and our determination not to proceed with the offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the offering proceeds not held in the trust account. As of September 30, 2020, there was $69,854 outstanding under the note.
In addition, in order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our initial stockholders, officers or directors, may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except as described above, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our initial stockholders, officers or directors, 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.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us, if any, may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts
139
being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. 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 stockholder 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 will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
We will enter into a registration rights agreement with respect to the founder shares, private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and their respective component securities) and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Registration Rights.”
Directed Unit Program
The underwriters have reserved up to 5% of the units being offered by this prospectus for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, employees and other individuals associated with us and members of their families. The sales will be made by UBS Financial Services Inc., a selected dealer affiliated with UBS Securities LLC, an underwriter of this offering, through a directed unit program. We do not currently know the extent to which these related persons will participate in our directed unit program, if at all. We will offer these units to the extent permitted under applicable regulations.
Related party policy
We have not yet adopted a formal policy for the review, approval or ratification of related party transactions. Accordingly, the transactions discussed above were not reviewed, approved or ratified in accordance with any such policy.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt a Code of Ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our Code of Ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A form of the Code of Ethics that we plan to adopt prior to the consummation of this offering will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we will adopt prior to the consummation of this offering, will be responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. A form of the audit committee charter that we plan to adopt prior to the consummation of this offering will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.
To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our initial stockholders, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent directors, obtain an opinion from an independent investment
140
banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view. Furthermore, no finder’s fees, reimbursements or cash payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, for services rendered to us prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, the following payments will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
➢
repayment of an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses;
➢
payment to our sponsor of a total of $20,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, administrative and support services;
➢
reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to our formation and initial public offering and to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and
➢
repayment of loans which may be made by our initial stockholders, officers, directors, or their affiliates to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. 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.
These payments may be funded using the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement units not held in the trust account or, upon completion of the initial business combination, from any amounts remaining from the proceeds of the trust account released to us in connection therewith. Additionally, in connection with the successful completion of our initial business combination, we may determine to provide a payment to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors, or our or their affiliates; however, any such payment would not be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account and we currently do not have any arrangement or agreement with our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors, or our or their affiliates, to do so. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were or are to be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
141
Description of Securities
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 2,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
The Class A common stock and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus (or, if such date is not a business day, the following business day) unless the Representatives informs us of decision (based upon, among other things, their assessment of the relative strengths of the securities markets, of comparably capitalized companies and of blank check companies in general, and the trading pattern of, and demand for, our securities in particular) to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the shares of Class A common stock and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into shares of Class A common stock and warrants. Additionally, we expect that the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
In no event will the Class A common stock and warrants be traded separately until we have filed with the SEC a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet promptly after the completion of this offering. If the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Common stock
Upon the closing of this offering, 25,000,000 shares of our common stock will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding forfeiture of an aggregate of 750,000 founder shares by our sponsor), consisting of:
➢
20,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock underlying the units being offered in this offering; and
➢
5,000,000 shares of Class B common stock held by our initial stockholders.
If we increase or decrease the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
142
Common stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders; provided that, prior to the completion of our initial business combination, holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to elect all of our directors and remove members of our board of directors for any reason. Holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law. Unless specified in our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. Our board of directors will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of our initial business combination, holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. The provisions of our certificate of incorporation governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock.
Because our certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of Class A common stock which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.10 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our certificate of incorporation will require these
143
tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting.
If we seek stockholder 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 certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming any Excess Shares, without our consent. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to their founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (assuming all outstanding shares are voted), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). However, because we generally only need a majority of the outstanding shares to be voted in favor of a proposed business combination to have such transaction approved, the number of public shares needed to be voted in favor of any transaction decreases as the overall number of public shares voted decreases. Accordingly, we would need only 1,250,001, or 6.25%, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of a transaction if only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised). Additionally, each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or do not vote at all (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, if we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our initial stockholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail
144
to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period. However, if our initial stockholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our business combination within the allotted time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder shares
The founder shares are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason; (ii) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (iii) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (A) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation (x) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (y) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (C) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, 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 such time period, (iv) the direct anchor investors have agreed to waive their right to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering and have also agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares, 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; (v) the founder shares are shares of our Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder (except for any founder shares held by the direct anchor investors who have agreed not to effect a conversion with respect to such founder shares until the consummation of the initial business combination), on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights as described herein and (vi) the holders are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed pursuant to the letter agreement to vote any founder shares and any public shares held by them in favor of our initial business combination. Permitted transferees of the founder shares and private placement warrants and their component securities will be subject to the same restrictions described herein applicable to the holders of such securities.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, or earlier at the option of the holder, on a one-for-one basis (subject to adjustment for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like,
145
and subject to further adjustment as described herein). In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in this offering and related to the closing of our initial business combination (including pursuant to a specified future issuance), the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance, including pursuant to a specified future issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of this offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination (net of the number of shares of Class A common stock redeemed in connection with our initial business combination and excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued or issuable to any seller in the initial business combination). We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at the time of any future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are part of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A stockholders on structuring an initial business combination; or (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B common stock. If such adjustment is not waived, the issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of our public stockholders. If such adjustment is waived, the issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our common stock. Securities could be “deemed issued” for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to affiliates of our sponsor, officers, directors or the direct anchor investors, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of our Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the election of directors during such time. In addition, prior to the completion of our initial business combination, holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. These provisions of our certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, holders of the Class A common stock and holders of the Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, except as required by law. Each share of common stock will have one vote on all such matters.
Preferred stock
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the common stock
146
and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preferred stock outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any shares of preferred stock, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No shares of preferred stock are being issued or registered in this offering.
Redeemable warrants
Public stockholders’ warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as described below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of Class A common stock. This means that only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of Class A common stock underlying such unit.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants):
147
➢
in whole and not in part;
➢
at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
➢
upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrant holder; and
➢
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock 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 the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
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.
We have established the $18.00 per share (subject to adjustment) redemption criteria discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption for cash as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (defined above) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant. The “fair market value” for this purpose shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor, the direct anchor investors and their permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00. Commencing ninety days after the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants:
➢
in whole and not in part;
➢
at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption and receive that number of shares
148
of Class A common stock to be determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described below;
➢
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders;
➢
if, and only if, the private placement warrants are also concurrently exchanged at the same price (equal to a number of shares of Class A common stock) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above; and
➢
if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock (or a security other than the Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination) issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given.
The numbers in the table below represent the number of shares of Class A common stock that a warrant holder will receive upon exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined based on the volume-weighted average price of the Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A common stock shall include a security other than Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the tables below will not be adjusted solely as a result of us not being the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The stock prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted as set forth in the first three paragraphs under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. The adjusted stock prices in the column headings will equal the stock prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant.
|
Redemption Date (period to
expiration of warrants) |
| |
Fair Market Value of Class A Common Stock
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
≤$10.00
|
| |
$11.00
|
| |
$12.00
|
| |
$13.00
|
| |
$14.00
|
| |
$15.00
|
| |
$16.00
|
| |
$17.00
|
| |
≥$18.00
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
59
|
| | |
|
0.236
|
| | | |
|
0.257
|
| | | |
|
0.277
|
| | | |
|
0.295
|
| | | |
|
0.311
|
| | | |
|
0.325
|
| | | |
|
0.338
|
| | | |
|
0.350
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
57
|
| | |
|
0.233
|
| | | |
|
0.255
|
| | | |
|
0.275
|
| | | |
|
0.293
|
| | | |
|
0.309
|
| | | |
|
0.324
|
| | | |
|
0.338
|
| | | |
|
0.350
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
54
|
| | |
|
0.229
|
| | | |
|
0.251
|
| | | |
|
0.272
|
| | | |
|
0.291
|
| | | |
|
0.307
|
| | | |
|
0.323
|
| | | |
|
0.337
|
| | | |
|
0.350
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
51
|
| | |
|
0.225
|
| | | |
|
0.248
|
| | | |
|
0.269
|
| | | |
|
0.288
|
| | | |
|
0.305
|
| | | |
|
0.321
|
| | | |
|
0.336
|
| | | |
|
0.349
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
48
|
| | |
|
0.220
|
| | | |
|
0.243
|
| | | |
|
0.265
|
| | | |
|
0.285
|
| | | |
|
0.303
|
| | | |
|
0.320
|
| | | |
|
0.335
|
| | | |
|
0.349
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
45
|
| | |
|
0.214
|
| | | |
|
0.239
|
| | | |
|
0.261
|
| | | |
|
0.282
|
| | | |
|
0.301
|
| | | |
|
0.318
|
| | | |
|
0.334
|
| | | |
|
0.348
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
42
|
| | |
|
0.208
|
| | | |
|
0.234
|
| | | |
|
0.257
|
| | | |
|
0.278
|
| | | |
|
0.298
|
| | | |
|
0.316
|
| | | |
|
0.333
|
| | | |
|
0.348
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
39
|
| | |
|
0.202
|
| | | |
|
0.228
|
| | | |
|
0.252
|
| | | |
|
0.275
|
| | | |
|
0.295
|
| | | |
|
0.314
|
| | | |
|
0.331
|
| | | |
|
0.347
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
36
|
| | |
|
0.195
|
| | | |
|
0.222
|
| | | |
|
0.247
|
| | | |
|
0.271
|
| | | |
|
0.292
|
| | | |
|
0.312
|
| | | |
|
0.330
|
| | | |
|
0.346
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
33
|
| | |
|
0.187
|
| | | |
|
0.215
|
| | | |
|
0.241
|
| | | |
|
0.266
|
| | | |
|
0.288
|
| | | |
|
0.309
|
| | | |
|
0.328
|
| | | |
|
0.345
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
30
|
| | |
|
0.179
|
| | | |
|
0.208
|
| | | |
|
0.235
|
| | | |
|
0.261
|
| | | |
|
0.284
|
| | | |
|
0.306
|
| | | |
|
0.326
|
| | | |
|
0.345
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
27
|
| | |
|
0.170
|
| | | |
|
0.199
|
| | | |
|
0.228
|
| | | |
|
0.255
|
| | | |
|
0.280
|
| | | |
|
0.303
|
| | | |
|
0.324
|
| | | |
|
0.343
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
24
|
| | |
|
0.159
|
| | | |
|
0.190
|
| | | |
|
0.220
|
| | | |
|
0.248
|
| | | |
|
0.274
|
| | | |
|
0.299
|
| | | |
|
0.322
|
| | | |
|
0.342
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
149
|
Redemption Date (period to
expiration of warrants) |
| |
Fair Market Value of Class A Common Stock
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
≤$10.00
|
| |
$11.00
|
| |
$12.00
|
| |
$13.00
|
| |
$14.00
|
| |
$15.00
|
| |
$16.00
|
| |
$17.00
|
| |
≥$18.00
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
21
|
| | |
|
0.148
|
| | | |
|
0.179
|
| | | |
|
0.210
|
| | | |
|
0.240
|
| | | |
|
0.268
|
| | | |
|
0.295
|
| | | |
|
0.319
|
| | | |
|
0.341
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
18
|
| | |
|
0.135
|
| | | |
|
0.167
|
| | | |
|
0.200
|
| | | |
|
0.231
|
| | | |
|
0.261
|
| | | |
|
0.289
|
| | | |
|
0.315
|
| | | |
|
0.339
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
15
|
| | |
|
0.120
|
| | | |
|
0.153
|
| | | |
|
0.187
|
| | | |
|
0.220
|
| | | |
|
0.253
|
| | | |
|
0.283
|
| | | |
|
0.311
|
| | | |
|
0.337
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
12
|
| | |
|
0.103
|
| | | |
|
0.137
|
| | | |
|
0.172
|
| | | |
|
0.207
|
| | | |
|
0.242
|
| | | |
|
0.275
|
| | | |
|
0.306
|
| | | |
|
0.335
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
9
|
| | |
|
0.083
|
| | | |
|
0.117
|
| | | |
|
0.153
|
| | | |
|
0.191
|
| | | |
|
0.229
|
| | | |
|
0.266
|
| | | |
|
0.300
|
| | | |
|
0.332
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
6
|
| | |
|
0.059
|
| | | |
|
0.092
|
| | | |
|
0.130
|
| | | |
|
0.171
|
| | | |
|
0.213
|
| | | |
|
0.254
|
| | | |
|
0.292
|
| | | |
|
0.328
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
3
|
| | |
|
0.030
|
| | | |
|
0.060
|
| | | |
|
0.100
|
| | | |
|
0.145
|
| | | |
|
0.193
|
| | | |
|
0.240
|
| | | |
|
0.284
|
| | | |
|
0.324
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
|
0
|
| | |
|
0.000
|
| | | |
|
0.000
|
| | | |
|
0.042
|
| | | |
|
0.115
|
| | | |
|
0.179
|
| | | |
|
0.233
|
| | | |
|
0.281
|
| | | |
|
0.324
|
| | | |
|
0.361
|
| |
| | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For example, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock as reported during the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $11 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.233 shares of Class A common stock for each whole warrant. However, the exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A common stock for the 10 trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.284 shares of Class A common stock for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 shares of Class A common stock per warrant. Once the average last reported sale price of our Class A common stock exceeds $18.00, we will have the option to redeem the warrants using this method or as described above under the heading “Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00.”
This redemption feature differs from the typical warrant redemption features used in other blank check offerings, which typically only provide for a redemption of warrants for cash (other than the private placement warrants) when the trading price for the Class A common stock exceeds $18.00 per share for a specified period of time. This redemption feature is structured to allow for all of the outstanding warrants to be redeemed when the Class A common stock is trading at or above $10.00 per share, which may be at a time when the trading price of our Class A common stock is below the exercise price of the warrants. We have established this redemption feature to provide us with the flexibility to redeem the warrants without the warrants having to reach the $18.00 per share threshold set forth above under “—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00.” Holders choosing to exercise their warrants in connection with a redemption pursuant to this feature will, in effect, receive a number of shares representing the applicable redemption price for their warrants based on an option pricing model with a fixed volatility input as of the date of this prospectus. This redemption right provides us with an additional mechanism by which to redeem all of the outstanding warrants, and therefore have certainty as to our capital structure. As such, we would redeem the warrants in this manner when we believe it is in our best interest to update our capital structure to remove the warrants.
As stated above, we can redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock is trading at a price starting at $10.00, which is below the exercise price of $11.50, because it will provide certainty with respect to our capital structure and cash position while providing warrant holders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis for the applicable number of shares. If we choose to redeem the warrants when the Class A common stock is trading at a price below the exercise price of the warrants, this could result in the warrant holders receiving fewer shares of Class A common stock than they would have received if they had exercised their warrants for shares of Class A common stock if and when the Class A common stock trades at a price higher than the exercise price of $11.50.
150
No fractional shares of Class A common stock will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security.
Exercise Limitations. A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the shares of Class A common stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-Dilution Adjustments. If the number of outstanding shares of Class A common stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Class A common stock, or by a split-up of shares of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Class A common stock. A rights offering to holders of Class A common stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Class A common stock at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Class A common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Class A common stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for Class A common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A common stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Class A common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A common stock on account of such shares of Class A common stock (or other shares of our capital stock into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Class A common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant
151
exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our outstanding shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake or defective provision, contained therein but requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then-outstanding private placement warrants.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share, (y) 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 the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of each warrant will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) such that the effective exercise price per full share will be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per-share redemption trigger price described under “—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00” 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 described under “—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders' Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00’’ 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.
The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A common stock or any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive shares of Class A common stock. After the
152
issuance of shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one (1) vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by stockholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of shares of Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of Delaware or the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Private placement warrants
The private placement warrants (including the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” each of which will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees (except as described under “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00”). Our sponsor or its permitted transferees, have the option to exercise the private placement warrants on a cashless basis and our sponsor, the direct anchor investors and their permitted transferees will also have certain registration rights related to the private placement warrants (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants), as described below. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us in all redemption scenarios and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. Each of the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans shall be identical to the private placement warrants.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis other than in connection with the above $10.00 redemption, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “private warrant fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the private warrant fair market value. The “private warrant fair market value” shall mean the average last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors or their permitted transferees is because it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination. If they remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public stockholders who could sell the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly
153
restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor, officers and directors, may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock 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. 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. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a stock dividend or other appropriate mechanism with respect to our Class B common stock immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares at 20% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock upon the consummation of this offering.
Our transfer agent and warrant agent
The transfer agent for our common stock and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its stockholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Our certificate of incorporation
Our certificate of incorporation will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of at least 65% of our outstanding common stock; provided that amendments relating to the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination require a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock. Our initial stockholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20.0% of our common stock upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), may participate in any vote to amend our certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that:
➢
If we have not completed our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law;
154
➢
We may not issue additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof, prior to our initial business combination, to (1) receive funds from the trust account or (2) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation;
➢
In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business that is affiliated with our initial stockholders, officers or directors, or any of their affiliates, 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 our initial business combination is fair to us from a financial point of view;
➢
If a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing rules and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act;
➢
Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the income earned on the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination;
➢
If our stockholders approve an amendment to our certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or any amendments to our certificate of incorporation specified in this paragraph or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other provisions relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares;
➢
We will not complete our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations; and
➢
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors.
In addition, our certificate of incorporation will provide that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination.
Certain anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws
We will be subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers upon completion of this offering. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
➢
a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”);
➢
an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or
155
➢
an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder.
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
➢
our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction;
➢
after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or
➢
on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings. In addition, prior to the completion of our initial business combination, only holders of the Class B common stock have the right to vote on the election of directors and holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our Class B common stock may remove members of our board of directors for any reason, which provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended by a resolution passed by the holders of a majority of shares of our Class B common stock.
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock are available for future issuances without stockholder approval (including a specified future issuance) and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Exclusive forum for certain lawsuits
Our certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for any (1) derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of our company, (2) action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer, employee or agent of our company to our company or our stockholders, or any claim for aiding and abetting any such alleged breach, (3) action asserting a claim against our company or any director, officer or employee of our company arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) action asserting a claim against us or any director, officer or employee of our company governed by the internal affairs doctrine except for, as to each of (1) through (4) above, any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery determines that there is an indispensable party not subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (and the indispensable party does not consent to the personal jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery within ten days following such determination) or (B) which is vested in the exclusive jurisdiction of a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act or otherwise arising under federal securities laws, for which the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the sole and exclusive forum. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors, officers, other employees or stockholders. Furthermore, the enforceability of choice of forum provisions in other companies’
156
certificates of incorporation has been challenged in legal proceedings, and it is possible that a court could find these types of provisions to be inapplicable or unenforceable.
Special meeting of stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.
Advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations
Our bylaws will provide for advance notice procedures with respect to stockholder proposals and the nomination of candidates for election as directors, other than nominations made by or at the direction of our board of directors or a committee of our board of directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our bylaws will also specify requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. Our bylaws will allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of us.
Action by written consent
Subsequent to the consummation of the offering, any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our Class B common stock.
Classified board of directors
Our board of directors will initially be divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Subject to the terms of any preferred stock, any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. Any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.
Class B common stock consent right
For so long as any shares of Class B common stock remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the shares of Class B common stock then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision our certificate of incorporation, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B common stock. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of Class B common stock may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B common stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that
157
would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of Class B common stock were present and voted.
Securities eligible for future sale
Immediately after the consummation of this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) we will have 25,000,000 (or 28,750,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) shares of common stock outstanding. Of these shares, the 20,000,000 shares (or 23,000,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining shares and all private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and the shares of Class B common stock and private placement warrants are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. These restricted securities will be subject to registration rights as more fully described below under “—Registration Rights.”
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted shares of our common stock or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
➢
1% of the total number of shares of common stock then outstanding, which will equal 250,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 287,500 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or
➢
the average weekly reported trading volume of the common stock during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale.
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
Restrictions on the use of Rule 144 by shell companies or former shell companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
➢
the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company;
➢
the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act;
➢
the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and materials required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and
158
➢
at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company.
As a result, our initial stockholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration rights
We will enter into a registration rights agreement with the holders of the founder shares and private placement warrants. The holders will have registration rights to require us to register the sale of any of our securities held by them pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. The holders of at least 30% in interest of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Listing of securities
We have been approved to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “KINZ.U” on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date the shares of our Class A common stock and public warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that our Class A common stock and public warrants will be separately listed in the Nasdaq under the symbols “KINZ” and “KINZ WS”, respectively.
159
United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion of U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the ownership and disposition of our units, shares of Class A common stock and warrants, which we refer to collectively as our securities. Because the components of a unit are separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant components of the unit, as the case may be. As a result, the discussion below with respect to actual holders of Class A common stock and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A common stock and warrants that comprise the units). This discussion applies only to securities that are held as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes and is applicable only to holders who purchased units in this offering.
This discussion is a summary only and does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to you in light of your particular circumstances, including but not limited to the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on certain investment income and the different consequences that may apply if you are subject to special rules that apply to certain types of investors, including but not limited to:
➢
financial institutions or financial services entities;
➢
broker-dealers;
➢
governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof;
➢
regulated investment companies;
➢
real estate investment trusts;
➢
expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States;
➢
persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more of our voting shares;
➢
insurance companies;
➢
taxpayers subject to a mark-to-market method of accounting with respect to the securities;
➢
persons holding the securities as part of a “straddle,” hedge, integrated transaction or similar transaction;
➢
U.S. holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;
➢
partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes and any beneficial owners of such entities; and
➢
tax-exempt entities.
If a partnership (including an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our securities, the tax treatment of a partner, member or other beneficial owner in such partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner, member or other beneficial owner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner, member or other beneficial owner level. If you are a partner, member or other beneficial owner of a partnership holding our securities, you are urged to consult your tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our securities.
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and proposed Treasury
160
regulations as of the date hereof, which are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis, and changes to any of which subsequent to the date of this prospectus may affect the tax consequences described herein. This discussion does not address any aspect of state, local or non-U.S. taxation, or any U.S. federal taxes other than income taxes (such as gift and estate taxes).
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion. You are urged to consult your tax advisor with respect to the application of U.S. federal tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or foreign jurisdiction.
Personal holding company status
We could be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company, or PHC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A U.S. corporation will generally be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (ii) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents).
Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, it is possible that at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our initial stockholders and certain tax-exempt organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, it is possible that more than 50% of our stock may be owned or deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not be a PHC following this offering or in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments.
Allocation of purchase price and characterization of a unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant to acquire one share of our Class A common stock. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make his or her own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult his or her tax advisor regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The price allocated to each share of Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant should be the stockholder’s tax basis in such share or one-half of one warrant, as the case may be. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the share of Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A common stock and the one-half of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values (as determined by each such unit holder on all the relevant facts and circumstances) at the time of disposition. The separation of shares of Class A common stock and warrants comprising units should not be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
161
The foregoing treatment of the shares of Class A common stock and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above is respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “U.S. holder.” A U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of our units, shares of Class A common stock or warrants who or that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
➢
an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
➢
a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia;
➢
an estate the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source; or
➢
a trust, if (i) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more United States persons (as defined in the Code) have authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) it has a valid election in effect under Treasury Regulations to be treated as a United States person.
Taxation of Distributions. If we pay distributions in cash or other property (other than certain distributions of our stock or rights to acquire our stock) to U.S. holders of shares of our Class A common stock, such distributions will generally constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits will constitute a return of capital that will be applied against and reduce (but not below zero) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in our Class A common stock. Any remaining excess will be treated as gain realized on the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock and will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below.
Dividends we pay to a U.S. holder that is a taxable corporation generally will qualify for the dividends received deduction if the requisite holding period is satisfied. With certain exceptions (including dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), and provided certain holding period requirements are met, dividends we pay to a non-corporate U.S. holder generally will constitute “qualified dividends” that will be subject to tax at preferential long-term capital gains rates. It is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may prevent a U.S. holder from satisfying the applicable holding period requirements with respect to the dividends received deduction or the preferential tax rate on qualified dividend income, as the case may be. If the holding period requirements are not satisfied, then a corporation may not be able to qualify for the dividends received deduction and would have taxable income equal to the entire dividend amount, and non-corporate holders may be subject to tax on such dividend at regular ordinary income tax rates instead of the preferential rate that applies to qualified dividend income.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants. Upon a sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants which, in general, would include a redemption of Class A common stock or warrants that is treated as a sale of such securities as described below, and including as a result of a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period, a U.S. holder
162
generally will recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the Class A common stock or warrants. Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock or warrants so disposed of exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether the redemption rights with respect to the Class A common stock described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. If the running of the holding period for the Class A common stock is suspended, then non-corporate U.S. holders may not be able to satisfy the one-year holding period requirement for long-term capital gain treatment, in which case any gain on a sale or taxable disposition of the shares or warrants would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates. Long-term capital gains recognized by non-corporate U.S. holders will be eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.
Generally, the amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. holder is an amount equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A common stock or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A common stock or the warrants based upon the then fair market values of the Class A common stock and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A common stock or warrants generally will equal the U.S. holder’s acquisition cost (that is, as discussed above, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a share of Class A common stock or one-half of one warrant or, as discussed below, the U.S. holder’s initial basis for Class A common stock received upon exercise of warrants) less, in the case of a share of Class A common stock, any prior distributions treated as a return of capital.
Redemption of Class A Common Stock. In the event that a U.S. holder’s Class A common stock is redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Common Stock” or if we purchase a U.S. holder’s Class A common stock in an open market transaction (each of which we refer to as a “redemption”), the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A common stock under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of common stock under the tests described below, the U.S. holder will be treated as described under “U.S. Holders—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of common stock, the U.S. holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “U.S. Holders—Taxation of Distributions”. Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of shares of our stock treated as held by the U.S. holder (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. holder as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after the redemption. The redemption of Class A common stock will generally be treated as a sale of the Class A common stock (rather than as a corporate distribution) if the redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. holder takes into account not only stock actually owned by the U.S. holder, but also shares of our stock that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. holder may constructively own, in addition to stock owned directly, stock owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. holder, as well as any stock the U.S. holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include Class A common stock which could be acquired pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately following the redemption of Class A common stock must, among other requirements, be less than 80% of the percentage of our outstanding voting stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to our initial business combination, the Class A common stock
163
may not be treated as voting stock for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. holder’s interest if either (i) all of the shares of our stock actually and constructively owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed or (ii) all of the shares of our stock actually owned by the U.S. holder are redeemed and the U.S. holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of stock owned by certain family members and the U.S. holder does not constructively own any other shares of our stock (including any stock constructively owned by the U.S. holder as a result of owning warrants). The redemption of the Class A common stock will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend if the redemption results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances.
However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority stockholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. holder should consult with its own tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests is satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “U.S. Holders—Taxation of Distributions,” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. holder in the redeemed Class A common stock will be added to the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining stock, or, if it has none, to the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other stock constructively owned by it.
Exercise Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant. Except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. holder will generally not recognize taxable gain or loss on the acquisition of common stock upon exercise of a warrant for cash. The U.S. holder’s tax basis in the share of our Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrant will generally be an amount equal to the sum of the U.S. holder’s initial investment in the warrant (i.e., the portion of the U.S. holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether the U.S. holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock received upon exercise of the warrants will begin on the date following the date of exercise or on the date of exercise of the warrants; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. holder held the warrants. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current tax law. A cashless exercise may be tax-free, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either tax-free situation, a U.S. holder’s basis in the Class A common stock received would equal the holder’s basis in the warrants exercised therefor. If the cashless exercise were treated as not being a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. holder’s holding period in the Class A common stock would be treated as commencing on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A common stock would include the holding period of the warrants exercised therefor.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise could be treated in whole or in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. holder could be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants having an aggregate fair market value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. The U.S. holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the Class A common stock received in respect of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. holder’s tax basis in such warrants. Such gain or loss would be long-term or short-term, depending on the U.S. holder’s holding period in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. holder’s tax basis in the Class A common stock received would equal the sum of the U.S. holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. holder’s purchase price for a unit that is allocated to the warrant, as described above
164
under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants. It is unclear whether a U.S. holder’s holding period for the Class A common stock would commence on the date following the date of exercise or on the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period would not include the period during which the U.S. holder held the warrant. There may also be alternative characterizations of any such taxable exchange that would result in similar tax consequences, except that a U.S. Holder’s gain or loss would be short-term.
Because of the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, including when a U.S. holder’s holding period would commence with respect to the Class A common stock received, there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
If we provide notice that we will redeem warrants for $0.10 as described in the section entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” and a U.S. Holder exercises its warrant on a cashless basis and receives the amount of shares of Class A common stock as determined by reference to the table set forth therein, we intend to treat such exercise as a redemption of warrants for shares of Class A common stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes. While not free from doubt, such redemption should be treated as a “recapitalization” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Accordingly, a U.S. holder should not recognize any gain or loss on the redemption of warrants for shares of Class A common stock. In such event, a U.S. holder’s aggregate tax basis in the shares of Class A common stock received in the redemption generally should equal the U.S. holder’s aggregate tax basis in the warrants redeemed and the holding period for the shares of Class A common stock received should include the U.S. holder’s holding period for the surrendered warrants. However, there is some uncertainty regarding this tax treatment and it is possible such a redemption could be treated in part as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized in a manner similar to that discussed above for a cashless exercise of warrants, or otherwise characterized. Accordingly, a U.S. holder is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of a redemption of warrants for shares of Class A common stock.
If we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. holder, taxed as described above under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
Possible Constructive Distributions. The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment to the number of such shares or to such exercise price increases the warrant holders’ proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property, such as other securities, to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock, or as a result of the issuance of a stock dividend to holders of shares of our Class A common stock, in each case which is taxable to the U.S. holders of such shares as a distribution. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax in the same manner as if the U.S. holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interest resulting from the adjustment.
165
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. holder” means a beneficial owner of our units, Class A common stock or warrants who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
➢
a non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates);
➢
a foreign corporation or
➢
an estate or trust that is not a U.S. holder;
but generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. If you are such an individual, you should consult your tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership or sale or other disposition of our securities.
Taxation of Distributions. In general, any distributions (including constructive distributions) we make to a Non-U.S. holder of shares of our Class A common stock, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles), will constitute dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, provided such dividends are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States, we will be required to withhold tax from the gross amount of the dividend at a rate of 30%, unless such Non-U.S. holder is eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax under an applicable income tax treaty and provides proper certification of its eligibility for such reduced rate (usually on an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E). In the case of any constructive dividend, it is possible that this tax would be withheld from any amount owed to a Non-U.S. holder by the applicable withholding agent, including cash distributions on other property or sales proceeds from warrants or other property subsequently paid or credited to such holder. Any distribution not constituting a dividend will be treated first as reducing (but not below zero) the Non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our Class A common stock and, to the extent such distribution exceeds the Non-U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis, as gain realized from the sale or other disposition of the Class A common stock, which will be treated as described under “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below. In addition, if we determine that we are classified as a “United States real property holding corporation” (see “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants” below), we will withhold 15% of any distribution that exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits.
The 30% withholding tax does not apply to dividends paid to a Non-U.S. holder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. federal income tax as if the Non-U.S. holder were a United States resident, subject to an applicable income tax treaty providing otherwise. A Non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower applicable treaty rate).
Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants. A Non-U.S. holder will generally not be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax in respect of gain recognized on a sale, taxable exchange or other taxable disposition of our Class A common stock, which would include a dissolution and liquidation in the event we do not complete an initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering, or warrants (including an expiration or redemption of our warrants), in each case without regard to whether those securities were held as part of a unit, unless:
166
➢
the gain is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business by the Non-U.S. holder within the United States (and, under certain income tax treaties, is attributable to a United States permanent establishment or fixed base maintained by the Non-U.S. holder); or
➢
we are or have been a “United States real property holding corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes at any time during the shorter of the five-year period ending on the date of disposition or the period that the Non-U.S. holder held our Class A common stock, and, in the case where shares of our Class A common stock are regularly traded on an established securities market, the Non-U.S. holder has owned, directly or constructively, more than 5% of our Class A common stock at any time within the shorter of the five-year period preceding the disposition or such Non-U.S. holder’s holding period for the shares of our Class A common stock. There can be no assurance that our Class A common stock will be treated as regularly traded on an established securities market for this purpose.
Unless an applicable treaty provides otherwise, gain described in the first bullet point above will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates as if the Non-U.S. holder were a United States resident. Any gains described in the first bullet point above of a Non-U.S. holder that is a foreign corporation may also be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or lower treaty rate).
If the second bullet point above applies to a Non-U.S. holder, gain recognized by such holder on the sale, exchange or other disposition of our Class A common stock or warrants will be subject to tax at generally applicable U.S. federal income tax rates. In addition, a buyer of our Class A common stock or warrants from such holder may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax at a rate of 15% of the amount realized upon such disposition. We cannot determine whether we will be a United States real property holding corporation in the future until we complete an initial business combination. We will be classified as a United States real property holding corporation if the fair market value of our “United States real property interests” equals or exceeds 50 percent of the sum of the fair market value of our worldwide real property interests plus our other assets used or held for use in a trade or business, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Redemption of Class A Common Stock. The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. holder’s Class A common stock generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. holder’s Class A common stock, as described under “U.S. Holders—Redemption of Class A Common Stock” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. holder will be as described above under “Non-U.S. Holders—Taxation of Distributions” and “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants,” as applicable.
Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant. The characterization for U.S. federal income purposes of the redemption, exercise or lapse of a Non-U.S. holder’s warrant will generally correspond to the characterization described under “U.S. holders—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise or redemption results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described above in “Non-U.S.Holders—Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
The U.S. federal income tax treatment for a Non-U.S. holder of a redemption of warrants for cashdescribed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—RedeemableWarrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per share of Class Acommon stock equals or exceeds $10.00” (or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction)would be similar to those described above in “Non-U.S. Holders—Gain on Sale, Taxable Exchange orOther Taxable Disposition of Class A Common Stock and Warrants.”
Possible Constructive Distributions. The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the numberof shares of Class A common stock for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of thewarrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description
167
ofSecurities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Stockholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effectof preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The Non-U.S. holders of the warrants would, however, betreated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment to the number ofsuch shares or to such exercise price increases the warrantholders’ proportionate interest in our assetsor earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of shares of Class A common stock thatwould be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result ofa distribution of cash or other property, such as other securities, to the holders of shares of our Class Acommon stock, or as a result of the issuance of a stock dividend to holders of shares of our Class Acommon stock, in each case which is taxable to the holders of such shares as a distribution. Suchconstructive distribution would be subject to tax in the same manner as if the Non-U.S. holders of thewarrants received a cash distribution from us equal to the fair market value of such increased interestresulting from the adjustment.
FATCA Withholding Taxes. Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code and the Treasury Regulations and administrative guidance promulgated thereunder (commonly referred as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” or “FATCA”) generally impose withholding at a rate of 30% in certain circumstances on dividends in respect of our securities which are held by or through certain foreign financial institutions (including investment funds), unless any such institution (1) enters into, and complies with, an agreement with the IRS to report, on an annual basis, information with respect to interests in, and accounts maintained by, the institution that are owned by certain U.S. persons and by certain non-U.S. entities that are wholly or partially owned by U.S. persons and to withhold on certain payments, or (2) if required under an intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, reports such information to its local tax authority, which will exchange such information with the U.S. authorities. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify these requirements. Accordingly, the entity through which our securities are held will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. Similarly, dividends in respect of our securities held by an investor that is a non-financial non-U.S. entity that does not qualify under certain exceptions will generally be subject to withholding at a rate of 30%, unless such entity either (1) certifies to us or the applicable withholding agent that such entity does not have any “substantial United States owners” or (2) provides certain information regarding the entity’s “substantial United States owners,” which will in turn be provided to the U.S. Department of Treasury. All prospective investors should consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of FATCA on their investment in our securities.
168
Underwriting
UBS Securities LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and BTIG, LLC are acting as joint-book running managers of this offering and as representatives of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus, each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to such underwriter, the number of units set forth opposite the underwriter’s name.
|
Underwriter
|
| |
Number of
Units |
| |||
| UBS Securities LLC | | | | | | | |
| Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated | | | | | | | |
| BTIG, LLC | | | | | | | |
| JMP Securities LLC | | | | | | | |
| Maxim Group LLC | | | | | | | |
| Academy Securities, Inc. | | | | | | | |
| Total | | | | | 20,000,000 | | |
The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to approval of legal matters by counsel and to other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to purchase all of the units (other than those covered by the underwriters’ over-allotment option described below) if they purchase any of the units.
The offering of the units by the underwriters is subject to receipt and acceptance and subject to the underwriters’ right to reject any order in whole or in part.
Units sold by the underwriters to the public will initially be offered at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover of this prospectus. Any units sold by the underwriters to securities dealers may be sold at a discount from the initial public offering price not to exceed $ per unit. If all of the units are not sold at the initial offering price, the underwriters may change the offering price and the other selling terms after completion of the initial public offering. The representatives have advised us that the underwriters do not intend to make sales to discretionary accounts.
If the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth in the table above, we have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional units at the public offering price less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option solely for the purpose of covering over-allotments, if any, in connection with this offering. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter must purchase a number of additional units approximately proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment. Any units issued or sold under the option will be issued and sold on the same terms and conditions as the other units that are the subject of this offering.
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that, for a period of 180 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of UBS Securities LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and BTIG, LLC, offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any units, warrants, shares of common stock or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, shares of common stock, subject to certain exceptions. UBS Securities LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and BTIG, LLC in their sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice, other than in the case of the officers and directors, which shall be with notice. Our sponsor, officers and directors are also subject to separate transfer restrictions on their founder shares and private placement warrants pursuant to the letter agreement described herein.
Our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent
169
to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property (except with respect to permitted transferees as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). The private placement warrants and the warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (including the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our sponsor, the direct anchor investors (as applicable) or their permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Stockholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Placement Warrants”).
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for the units was determined by negotiations between us and the representatives. Among the factors considered in determining the initial public offering price were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company. We cannot assure you, however, that the price at which the units, Class A common stock or warrants will sell in the public market after this offering will not be lower than the initial public offering price or that an active trading market in our units, Class A common stock or warrants will develop and continue after this offering.
At our request, the underwriters have reserved up to 5% of the units being offered by this prospectus for sale at the initial public offering price to our directors, officers, employees and other individuals associated with us and members of their families. The sales will be made by UBS Financial Services Inc., a selected dealer affiliated with UBS Securities LLC, an underwriter of this offering, through a directed unit program. We do not know if these persons will choose to purchase all or any portion of these reserved units, but any purchases they do make will reduce the number of units available to the general public. Any reserved units not so purchased will be offered by the underwriters to the general public on the same terms as the other units. Participants in the directed unit program who purchase more than $1,000,000 of units will be subject to a 25-day lock-up with respect to any units sold to them pursuant to that program. This lock-up will have similar restrictions and an identical extension provision to the lock-up agreements described above. Any units sold in the directed unit program to our directors or executive officers shall be subject to the lock-up agreements described in this prospectus.
We have been approved to list our units on Nasdaq under the symbol “KINZ U.” We expect that our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed under the symbols “KINZ” and “KINZ WS,” respectively, once the Class A common stock and warrants begin separate trading.
The following table shows the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
| | | | |
Payable by KINS Technology Group Inc.
|
| |||||||||
| | | | |
No Exercise
|
| |
Full Exercise
|
| ||||||
| | Per Unit(1) | | | | $ | 0.55 | | | | | $ | 0.55 | | |
| | Total(1)(2) | | | | $ | 11,000,000 | | | | | $ | 12,650,000 | | |
(1)
Includes $0.35 per unit, or up to $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) in the aggregate payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion
170
of an initial business combination, in an amount equal to $0.35 multiplied by the number of shares of Class A common stock sold as part of the units in this offering, as described in this prospectus.
(2)
Certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors.
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 18 months from the closing of this offering or during any Extension Period and subsequently liquidate, the trustee and the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account upon liquidation, and (ii) that the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, to the public stockholders.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell units in the open market. Purchases and sales in the open market may include short sales, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option and stabilizing purchases, in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
➢
Short sales involve secondary market sales by the underwriters of a greater number of units than they are required to purchase in the offering.
➢
“Covered” short sales are sales of units in an amount up to the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
➢
“Naked” short sales are sales of units in an amount in excess of the number of units represented by the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
➢
Covering transactions involve purchases of units either pursuant to the over-allotment option or in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions.
➢
To close a naked short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.
➢
To close a covered short position, the underwriters must purchase units in the open market after the distribution has been completed or must exercise the over-allotment option. In determining the source of units to close the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the over-allotment option.
➢
Stabilizing transactions involve bids to purchase units so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum.
Purchases to cover short positions and stabilizing purchases, as well as other purchases by the underwriters for their own accounts, may have the effect of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the units. They may also cause the price of the units to be higher than the price that would otherwise exist in the open market in the absence of these transactions. The underwriters may conduct these transactions in the over-the-counter market or otherwise. If the underwriters commence any of these transactions, they may discontinue them at any time.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representative has repurchased units sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
171
We estimate that our portion of the total expenses of this offering payable by us will be $750,000, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions. We have agreed to reimburse the underwriters for all expenses and fees related to the review by FINRA, including counsel fees which will not exceed $25,000.
We have agreed to indemnify the several underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make because of any of those liabilities.
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, we expect an affiliate of UBS Securities LLC will manage the funds placed in the trust account upon consummation of this offering and may therefore have an ongoing relationship with us. Additionally, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Some of the underwriters and their affiliates have engaged in, and may in the future engage in, investment banking and other commercial dealings in the ordinary course of business with us or our affiliates, including in connection with acting in an advisory capacity or as a potential financing source in conjunction with our potential acquisition of a company. They have received, or may in the future receive, customary fees and commissions for these transactions.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities and/or instruments of the issuer (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) and/or persons and entities with relationships with the issuer. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long and/or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.
Notice to prospective investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive (each, a “relevant member state”), with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that relevant member state (the “relevant implementation date”), an offer of units described in this prospectus may not be made to the public in that relevant member state prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the units that has been approved by the competent authority in that relevant member state or, where appropriate, approved in another relevant member state and notified to the competent authority in that relevant member state, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that, with effect from and including the relevant implementation date, an offer of our units may be made to the public in that relevant member state at any time:
172
➢
to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;
➢
to fewer than 100, or, if the relevant member state has implemented the relevant provisions of the 2010 PD Amending Directive, 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), as permitted under the Prospectus Directive, subject to obtaining the prior consent of the relevant Dealer or Dealers nominated by the issuer for any such offer; or natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined below) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or
➢
in any other circumstances that do not require the publication by us of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.
provided that no such offer of units referred to in the bullet points above shall require us or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.
Each purchaser of units described in this prospectus located within a relevant member state will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed that it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive.
For the purpose of this provision, the expression an “offer of units to the public” in any relevant member state means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the units to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for the units, as the expression may be varied in that member state by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that member state, and the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (and amendments thereto, including the 2010 PD Amending Directive to the extent implemented by the relevant member state) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each relevant member state. The expression 2010 PD Amending Directive means Directive 2010/73/EU.
We have not authorized and do not authorize the making of any offer of units through any financial intermediary on their behalf, other than offers made by the underwriters with a view to the final placement of the units as contemplated in this prospectus. Accordingly, no purchaser of the units, other than the underwriters, is authorized to make any further offer of the units on behalf of us or the underwriters.
Furthermore, the units are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available by any person to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC, as amended, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, including by Directive 2010/73/EU, the “Prospectus Directive”). Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the units or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the units or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation. This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that any offer of units in any member state of the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of units. This prospectus is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Directive.
Notice to prospective investors in the United Kingdom
This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom
173
it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (each such person being referred to as a “relevant person”). The units are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase or otherwise acquire such units will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
Notice to prospective investors in France
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units described in this prospectus has been submitted to the clearance procedures of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers or by the competent authority of another member state of the European Economic Area and notified to the Autorité des Marchés Financiers. The units have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering material relating to the units has been or will be:
➢
released, issued, distributed or caused to be released, issued or distributed to the public in France; or
➢
used in connection with any offer for subscription or sale of the units to the public in France.
Such offers, sales and distributions will be made in France only:
➢
to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) and/or to a restricted circle of investors (cercle restreint d’investisseurs), in each case investing for their own account, all as defined in, and in accordance with, articles L.411-2, D.411-1, D.411-2, D.734-1, D.744-1, D.754-1 and D.764-1 of the French Code monétaire et financier;
➢
to investment services providers authorized to engage in portfolio management on behalf of third parties; or
➢
in a transaction that, in accordance with article L.411-2-II-1° -or-2° -or 3° of the French Code monétaire et financier and article 211-2 of the General Regulations (Règlement Général) of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers, does not constitute a public offer (appel public à l’épargne).
The units may be resold directly or indirectly, only in compliance with articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 through L.621-8-3 of the French Code monétaire et financier.
Notice to prospective investors in Hong Kong
The units may not be offered or sold in Hong Kong by means of any document other than (i) in circumstances which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong), or (ii) to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder, or (iii) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” within the meaning of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32, Laws of Hong Kong) and no advertisement, invitation or document relating to the units may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public in Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to units which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” within the meaning of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571, Laws of Hong Kong) and any rules made thereunder.
Notice to prospective investors in Singapore
This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or
174
invitation for subscription or purchase, of the units may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the units be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA, in each case subject to compliance with conditions set forth in the SFA.
Where the units are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is
➢
a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or
➢
a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor, shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the shares pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
➢
to an institutional investor (for corporations, under Section 274 of the SFA) or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer that is made on terms that such shares, debentures and units of shares and debentures of that corporation or such rights and interest in that trust are acquired at a consideration of not less than $200,000 (or its equivalent in a foreign currency) for each transaction, whether such amount is to be paid for in cash or by exchange of securities or other assets, and further for corporations, in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275 of the SFA;
➢
where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; or
➢
where the transfer is by operation of law.
Notification under Section 309B of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore: The units are prescribed capital markets products (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018 and Excluded Investment Products (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).
Notice to prospective investors in Japan
The securities have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law) and each underwriter has agreed that it will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Notice to prospective investors in Canada
The units may be sold in Canada only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National
175
Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the units must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.
176
Legal Matters
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Palo Alto, California, is acting as counsel in connection with the registration of our securities under the Securities Act, and as such, will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus. In connection with this offering, Ropes & Gray LLP is acting as counsel to the underwriters.
Experts
The financial statements of KINS Technology Group Inc. as of July 27, 2020, and for the period from July 20, 2020 (inception) through July 27, 2020, have been audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC, independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is incorporated herein. Such financial statements have been incorporated herein in reliance on the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.
Where You Can Find Additional Information
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
177
Index to Financial Statements
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Page | | |
| Financial Statements of KINS Technology Group Inc.: | | | | | | | |
| Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm | | | | | F-2 | | |
| Balance Sheets | | | | | F-3 | | |
| Statements of Operations | | | | | F-4 | | |
| Statement of Changes in Stockholder’s Equity | | | | | F-5 | | |
| Statements of Cash Flows | | | | | F-6 | | |
| Notes to Financial Statements | | | | | F-7 | | |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTING FIRM
ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholder and the Board of Directors of
KINS Technology Group Inc.
KINS Technology Group Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of KINS Technology Group Inc. (the “Company”) as of July 27, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from July 20, 2020 (inception) through July 27, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of July 27, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from July 20, 2020 (inception) through July 27, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
October 14, 2020
October 14, 2020
F-2
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
BALANCE SHEETS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
BALANCE SHEETS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
| | | |
September 30,
2020 |
| |
July 27,
2020 |
| ||||||
| | | |
(Unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | |||
| ASSETS | | | | | | | | | |||||
|
Deferred offering costs
|
| | | $ | 374,959 | | | | | $ | 51,000 | | |
|
Total Assets
|
| | | $ | 374,959 | | | | | $ | 51,000 | | |
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Current Liabilities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Accrued expenses
|
| | | $ | 1,000 | | | | | $ | 1,000 | | |
|
Accrued offering costs
|
| | | | 280,105 | | | | | | 26,000 | | |
|
Promissory note – related party
|
| | | | 69,854 | | | | | | — | | |
|
Total Current Liabilities
|
| | | | 350,959 | | | | | | 27,000 | | |
| Commitments and contingencies | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Stockholder’s Equity: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value; 75,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding(1)
|
| | | | 575 | | | | | | 575 | | |
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
| | | | 24,425 | | | | | | 24,425 | | |
|
Accumulated deficit
|
| | | | (1,000) | | | | | | (1,000) | | |
|
Total Stockholder’s Equity
|
| | | | 24,000 | | | | | | 24,000 | | |
|
Total Liabilities and Stockholder’s Equity
|
| | | $ | 374,959 | | | | | $ | 51,000 | | |
(1)
Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2020 (INCEPTION)
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2020 (INCEPTION)
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
| | | |
For the Period from July 20, 2020
(inception) through |
| |||||||||
| | | |
September 30, 2020
|
| |
July 27, 2020
|
| ||||||
| | | |
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | |||
|
Formation costs
|
| | | $ | 1,000 | | | | | $ | 1,000 | | |
|
Net loss
|
| | | $ | (1,000) | | | | | $ | (1,000) | | |
|
Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted(1)
|
| | | | 5,000,000 | | | | | | 5,000,000 | | |
|
Basic and diluted net loss per common share
|
| | | $ | (0.00) | | | | | $ | (0.00) | | |
(1)
Excludes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2020 (INCEPTION)
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDER’S EQUITY
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2020 (INCEPTION)
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
| | | |
Class B
Common Stock |
| |
Additional
Paid-in Capital |
| |
Accumulated
Deficit |
| |
Total
Stockholder’s Equity |
| ||||||||||||||||||
| | | |
Shares
|
| |
Amount
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Balance, July 20, 2020 (inception)
|
| | | | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | |
|
Issuance of Class B common stock to
Sponsor(1) |
| | | | 5,750,000 | | | | | | 575 | | | | | | 24,425 | | | | | | — | | | | | | 25,000 | | |
|
Net loss
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | (1,000) | | | | | | (1,000) | | |
|
Balance, July 27, 2020
|
| | | | 5,750,000 | | | | | $ | 575 | | | | | $ | 24,425 | | | | | $ | (1,000) | | | | | $ | 24,000 | | |
|
Net loss
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Balance, September 30, 2020 (unaudited)
|
| | | | 5,750,000 | | | | | $ | 575 | | | | | $ | 24,425 | | | | | $ | (1,000) | | | | | $ | 24,000 | | |
(1)
Includes an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 5).
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2020 (INCEPTION)
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM JULY 20, 2020 (INCEPTION)
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2020
| | | |
For the Period from July 20, 2020
(inception) through |
| |||||||||
| | | |
September 30, 2020
|
| |
July 27, 2020
|
| ||||||
| | | |
(unaudited)
|
| |
(audited)
|
| ||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | | | | | | | | | |||||
|
Net loss
|
| | | $ | (1,000) | | | | | $ | (1,000) | | |
|
Adjustment to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Accrued expenses
|
| | | | 1,000 | | | | | | 1,000 | | |
|
Net cash used in operating activities
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Net change in cash
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Cash at beginning of period
|
| | | | — | | | | | | — | | |
|
Cash at end of period
|
| | | $ | — | | | | | $ | — | | |
| Non-cash financing activities: | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
Deferred offering costs paid directly by Sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Class B common stock
|
| | | $ | 25,000 | | | | | $ | 25,000 | | |
|
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs
|
| | | $ | 280,105 | | | | | $ | 26,000 | | |
|
Payment of offering costs through promissory note
|
| | | $ | 69,854 | | | | | $ | — | | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 — DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
KINS Technology Group Inc. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on July 20, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. 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 September 30, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from July 20, 2020 (inception) through September 30, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering (“Proposed Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a Proposed Public Offering of 20,000,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 8,000,000 warrants (or 8,900,000 warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised on full) (the “Private Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to KINS Capital LLC (the “Sponsor”) and certain funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Inc. (the “Direct Anchor Investors” and which the Direct Anchor Investors, together with the Sponsor, are the “initial stockholders”), that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the Trust Account). The Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.10 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including proceeds of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”), located in the United States and invested only in 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 any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting certain conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds held in the Trust Account, as described below.
The Company will provide the holders of the outstanding Public Shares (the “Public Stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of a Business
F-7
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The Public Stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially anticipated to be $10.10 per Public Share, plus any pro rata interest then in the Trust Account, net of taxes payable). There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of a Business Combination with respect to the Company’s warrants. The Public Shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering in accordance with the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
The Company will only proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 following any related redemptions and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. If a stockholder vote is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor has agreed to vote its Founder Shares (as defined in Note 5) and any Public Shares purchased during or after the Proposed Public Offering in favor of approving a Business Combination. Additionally, each Public Stockholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks stockholder approval of a Business Combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Certificate of Incorporation will provide that a Public Stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 20% of the Public Shares, without the prior consent of the Company.
The Sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to the Founder Shares and Public Shares held by it in connection with the completion of a Business Combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemptions in connection with a Business Combination or to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the Public Stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their Public Shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company has not completed a Business Combination within 18 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or during any extended time that the Company has to consummate a business combination beyond 18 months as a result of a stockholder vote to amend its certificate of incorporation (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 earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously
F-8
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
released to pay taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware 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 the Company’s warrants, which will expire worthless if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period.
The Sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the Sponsor acquires Public Shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, such Public Shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account 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 6) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts 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 assets remaining available for distribution will be less than $10.10 per Unit.
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 third party 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 to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 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 $10.10 per Public Share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to monies held in the Trust Account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Proposed Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (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 accounting firm), prospective target businesses and 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.
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying audited financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC. The accompanying unaudited financial statements include all adjustments, consisting of a normal recurring nature, which are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, operating results and cash flows for the period presented. The interim results for the period from July 20, 2020 (inception) through September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the period ending December 31, 2020 or for any future interim periods.
F-9
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its anticipated obligations over the next year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the Company has access to funds from the Sponsor that are sufficient to fund the working capital needs of the Company until the earlier of the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering or one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (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 independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder 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 a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with 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 periods.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of legal, accounting and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to stockholder’s
F-10
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” 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. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020. 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.
The provision for income taxes was deemed to be de minimis for the period from July 20, 2020 (inception) through September 30, 2020. The Company’s deferred tax assets were deemed to be de minimis as of July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020.
Net Loss per Common Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 750,000 shares of Class B common stock that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 5). At July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares of common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the periods presented.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
F-11
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3 — PROPOSED PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 20,000,000 Units (or 23,000,000 Units if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one share of Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7).
NOTE 4 — PRIVATE PLACEMENT
The Sponsor and the Direct Anchor Investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 Private Placement Warrants (or 8,900,000 Private Placement Warrants if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant ($8,000,000, or an aggregate of $8,900,000 if the underwriters’ over-allotment is exercised in full) from the Company in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 7). The proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be added to the net proceeds from the Proposed Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants held in the Trust Account will be used to fund the redemption of the Public Shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless.
NOTE 5 — RELATED PARTIES
Founder Shares
On July 27, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering costs of the Company in consideration for 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock (the “Founder Shares”). In October 2020, the Sponsor forfeited 625,000 Founder Shares and the Direct Anchor Investors purchased 625,000 Founder Shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share. The Founder Shares include an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares subject to forfeiture by the Sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of Founder Shares will equal, on an as-converted basis, approximately 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the Proposed Public Offering.
The initial stockholders have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur 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 common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after a Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Public Stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Promissory Note — Related Party
On July 27, 2020, the Sponsor issued an unsecured promissory note to the Company (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000.
F-12
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Promissory Note is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2020 or (ii) the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering. As of July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020, there was $0 and $69,854, respectively, outstanding under the Promissory Note.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). Such Working Capital Loans would be evidenced by promissory notes. The notes may be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of the notes may be converted upon completion of a Business Combination into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. Such warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. 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. As of July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020, there were no amounts outstanding under the Working Capital Loans.
NOTE 6 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, close of the Proposed Public Offering and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and securities that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of Proposed Public Offering. The holders of the majority of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have certain “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination and rights to require us to register for resale such securities pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company will grant the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of Proposed Public Offering to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the Proposed Public Offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions.
The underwriters will be entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters will be entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or up to $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or up to $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the
F-13
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement. Certain investors identified by our sponsor may purchase units in this offering at the initial public offering price. The underwriters will not receive any underwriting discounts or commissions on the units purchased by such investors.
NOTE 7 — STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. At July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.
Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 75,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class A common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020, there were no shares of Class A common stock issued or outstanding.
Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. At July 27, 2020 and September 30, 2020, there were 5,750,000 shares of Class B common stock issued and outstanding, of which an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares of Class B common stock are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part so that the number of Founder Shares will equal 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock after the Proposed Public Offering.
Only holders of the Class B common stock will have the right to vote on the election of directors prior to the Business Combination. Holders of Class A common stock and holders of Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders except as otherwise required by law.
The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into Class A common stock at the time of a Business Combination, or earlier at the option of the holder (except for any Founder Shares held by the Direct Anchor Investors who have agreed not to effect a conversion with respect to such Founder Shares until the consummation of the initial Business Combination), on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts issued in the Proposed Public Offering and related to the closing of a Business Combination (including pursuant to a specified future issuance), the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance, including pursuant to a specified future issuance) so that the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of Proposed Public Offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with a Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued or issuable to any seller in a Business Combination).
Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business
F-14
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Combination and (b) 12 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and the Company will not be obligated to issue shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file, and within 60 business days following a Business Combination to have declared effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock until the warrants expire or are redeemed. Notwithstanding the above, if the Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Public Warrants:
•
in whole and not in part;
•
at a price of $0.01 per Public Warrant;
•
upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and
•
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to warrant holders
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $10.00 — Once the warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding warrants:
•
in whole and not in part;
•
at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A common stock;
F-15
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
•
if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $10.00 per share on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders;
•
if, and only if, the Private Placement Warrants are also concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above; and
•
if, and only if, there is an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock (or a security other than the Class A common stock into which the Class A common stock has been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination) issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating thereto available throughout the 30-day period after written notice of redemption is given.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors, and, in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or its affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day after the day on which the Company completes a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price 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 will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
The Private Placement Warrants will be identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Proposed Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable, except as described above, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.
NOTE 8 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after July 27, 2020, the balance sheet date, up to October 14, 2020, the date that the audited financial statements were available to be issued. The Company also evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after September 30, 2020, the balance sheet date, up to December 8, 2020, the date the unaudited interim financial statements were available to be issued. Based upon this review, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
In October 2020, the Sponsor forfeited and the Direct Anchor Investors purchased Founder Shares from the Company. Also in October 2020, the Direct Anchor Investors agreed to purchase Private Placement Warrants. See Notes 4 and 5 for further details.
F-16
KINS Technology Group Inc.
$200,000,000
20,000,000 Units
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
, 2020
Joint Book-Running Managers
UBS Investment BankStifel
BTIG
Co-Lead Manager
JMP Securities
Co-Managers
Maxim Group LLC
Academy Securities
Until , 2021 (25 days after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that buy, sell or trade shares of our securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
ITEM 13. OTHER EXPENSES OF ISSUANCE AND DISTRIBUTION.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | SEC expenses | | | | $ | 29,854 | | | | | |
| | FlNRA expenses | | | | | 35,000 | | | | | |
| | Accounting fees and expenses | | | | | 40,000 | | | | | |
| | Printing and engraving expenses | | | | | 30,000 | | | | | |
| | Travel and road show expenses | | | | | 20,000 | | | | | |
| | Legal fees and expenses | | | | | 300,000 | | | | | |
| | Stock exchange listing and filing fees | | | | | 75,000 | | | | | |
| | Director & Officer liability insurance premiums(1) | | | | | 155,000 | | | | | |
| | Miscellaneous | | | | | 65,146 | | | | | |
| | Total | | | | $ | 750,000 | | | | | |
(1)
This amount represents the approximate amount of annual director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the completion of its initial public offering and until it completes a business combination.
ITEM 14. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that all of our directors, officers, employees and agents shall be entitled to be indemnified by us to the fullest extent permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
“Section 145. Indemnification of officers, directors, employees and agents; insurance.
(a)
A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. The termination of any action, suit or proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, shall not, of itself, create a presumption that the person did not act in good faith and in a manner which the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that the person’s conduct was unlawful.
(b)
A corporation shall have power to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director,
II-1
officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.
(c)
To the extent that a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of this section, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith.
(d)
Any indemnification under subsections (a) and (b) of this section (unless ordered by a court) shall be made by the corporation only as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in subsections (a) and (b) of this section. Such determination shall be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, or (4) by the stockholders.
(e)
Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation as authorized in this section. Such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the corporation deems appropriate.
(f)
The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of this section shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as to action in such person’s official capacity and as to action in another capacity while holding such office. A right to indemnification or to advancement of expenses arising under a provision of the certificate of incorporation or a bylaw shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to the certificate of incorporation or the bylaws after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding for which indemnification or advancement of expenses is sought, unless the provision in effect at the time of such act or omission explicitly authorizes such elimination or impairment after such action or omission has occurred.
(g)
A corporation shall have power to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under this section.
II-2
(h)
For purposes of this section, references to “the corporation” shall include, in addition to the resulting corporation, any constituent corporation (including any constituent of a constituent) absorbed in a consolidation or merger which, if its separate existence had continued, would have had power and authority to indemnify its directors, officers, and employees or agents, so that any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of such constituent corporation, or is or was serving at the request of such constituent corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, shall stand in the same position under this section with respect to the resulting or surviving corporation as such person would have with respect to such constituent corporation if its separate existence had continued.
(i)
For purposes of this section, references to “other enterprises” shall include employee benefit plans; references to “fines” shall include any excise taxes assessed on a person with respect to any employee benefit plan; and references to “serving at the request of the corporation” shall include any service as a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation which imposes duties on, or involves services by, such director, officer, employee or agent with respect to an employee benefit plan, its participants or beneficiaries; and a person who acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries of an employee benefit plan shall be deemed to have acted in a manner “not opposed to the best interests of the corporation” as referred to in this section.
(j)
The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, this section shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(k)
The Court of Chancery is hereby vested with exclusive jurisdiction to hear and determine all actions for advancement of expenses or indemnification brought under this section or under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise. The Court of Chancery may summarily determine a corporation’s obligation to advance expenses (including attorneys’ fees).”
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers, and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person in a successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, we will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to the court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, will provide that no director shall be personally liable to us or any of our stockholders for monetary damages resulting from breaches of their fiduciary duty as directors, except to the extent such limitation on or exemption from liability is not permitted under the DGCL. The effect of this provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is to eliminate our rights and those of our stockholders (through stockholders’ derivative suits on our behalf) to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of the fiduciary duty of care as a director, including breaches resulting from negligent or grossly negligent behavior, except, as restricted by Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL. However, this provision does not limit or eliminate our rights or the rights of any stockholder to seek non-monetary relief, such as an injunction or rescission, in the event of a breach of a director’s duty of care.
If the DGCL is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the liability of directors, then, in accordance with our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the liability of our directors to us or our stockholders will be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent authorized by the
II-3
DGCL, as so amended. Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation limiting or eliminating the liability of directors, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by applicable law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to further limit or eliminate the liability of directors on a retroactive basis.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also provide that we will, to the fullest extent authorized or permitted by applicable law, indemnify our current and former officers and directors, as well as those persons who, while directors or officers of our corporation, are or were serving as directors, officers, employees or agents of another entity, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan, in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, against all expense, liability and loss (including, without limitation, attorney’s fees, judgments, fines, ERISA excise taxes and penalties and amounts paid in settlement) reasonably incurred or suffered by any such person in connection with any such proceeding. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a person eligible for indemnification pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will be indemnified by us in connection with a proceeding initiated by such person only if such proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, except for proceedings to enforce rights to indemnification.
The right to indemnification which will be conferred by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation is a contract right that includes the right to be paid by us the expenses incurred in defending or otherwise participating in any proceeding referenced above in advance of its final disposition, provided, however, that if the DGCL requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by our officer or director (solely in the capacity as an officer or director of our corporation) will be made only upon delivery to us of an undertaking, by or on behalf of such officer or director, to repay all amounts so advanced if it is ultimately determined that such person is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or otherwise.
The rights to indemnification and advancement of expenses will not be deemed exclusive of any other rights which any person covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may have or hereafter acquire under law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our bylaws, an agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation affecting indemnification rights, whether by our stockholders or by changes in law, or the adoption of any other provisions inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by applicable law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time of such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will also permit us, to the extent and in the manner authorized or permitted by law, to indemnify and to advance expenses to persons other that those specifically covered by our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Our bylaws, which we intend to adopt immediately prior to the closing of this offering, include the provisions relating to advancement of expenses and indemnification rights consistent with those which will be set forth in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. In addition, our bylaws provide for a right of indemnity to bring a suit in the event a claim for indemnification or advancement of expenses is not paid in full by us within a specified period of time. Our bylaws also permit us to purchase and maintain insurance, at our expense, to protect us and/or any director, officer, employee or agent of our corporation or another entity, trust or other enterprise against any expense, liability or loss, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such person against such expense, liability or loss under the DGCL.
Any repeal or amendment of provisions of our bylaws affecting indemnification rights, whether by our board of directors, stockholders or by changes in applicable law, or the adoption of any other provisions
II-4
inconsistent therewith, will (unless otherwise required by applicable law) be prospective only, except to the extent such amendment or change in law permits us to provide broader indemnification rights on a retroactive basis, and will not in any way diminish or adversely affect any right or protection existing thereunder with respect to any act or omission occurring prior to such repeal or amendment or adoption of such inconsistent provision.
We will enter into indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors, a form of which is to be filed as an exhibit to this Registration Statement. These agreements will require us to indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted under Delaware law against liabilities that may arise by reason of their service to us, and to advance expenses incurred as a result of any proceeding against them as to which they could be indemnified.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the Underwriters and the Underwriters have agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
ITEM 15. RECENT SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES.
In July 2020, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000. In October 2020, our sponsor forfeited 625,000 founder shares and the direct anchor investors purchased 625,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2,717, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares of common stock upon completion of this offering. Such securities were issued in connection with our organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Each of our sponsor and independent directors is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
Our sponsor and direct anchor investors have also committed to purchase an aggregate of 8,000,000 warrants at $1.00 per private warrant (for an aggregate purchase price of $8,000,000), or 8,900,000 warrants (for $8,900,000) if the underwriter’s option to purchase additional units is exercised in full. This purchase will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering. These issuances will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
No underwriting discounts or commissions were paid with respect to such sales.
II-5
ITEM 16. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES.
(a) The following exhibits are filed as part of this Registration Statement:
*
Filed herewith.
**
Previously filed.
(b) Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement.
ITEM 17. UNDERTAKINGS.
(a)
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriter at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriter to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
(b)
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the
II-6
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
(c)
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1)
For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
((2)
For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
II-7
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Palo Alto, State of California, on the 10th day of December, 2020.
| | | | | KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC. | | |||
| | | | |
BY:
|
| |
/s/ Khurram P. Sheikh
Name: Khurram P. Sheikh
|
|
| | | | | | | | Title: Chief Executive Officer | |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| |
Name
|
| |
Position
|
| |
Date
|
|
| |
/s/ Khurram P. Sheikh
Khurram P. Sheikh
|
| |
Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Executive, Financial and Accounting Officer) |
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*
Eric Zimits
|
| |
Chief Corporate Development Officer
and Secretary |
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*
Hassan Ahmed
|
| |
Director
|
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*
Di-Ann Eisnor
|
| |
Director
|
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*
Camillo Martino
|
| |
Director
|
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*
Atif Rafiq
|
| |
Director
|
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*
Allen Salmasi
|
| |
Director
|
| |
December 10, 2020
|
|
| |
*By:
/s/ Khurram P. Sheikh
Khurram P. Sheikh
Attorney-in-Fact |
| | | ||||
Exhibit 4.4
KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC.
and
CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY
WARRANT AGREEMENT
Dated as of [l], 2020
THIS WARRANT AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of [l], 2020, is by and between KINS Technology Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation, as warrant agent (in such capacity, the “Warrant Agent”).
WHEREAS, the Company has entered into those certain Securities Subscription Agreements with each of BlackRock Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio of BlackRock Funds V, Master Total Return Portfolio of Master Bond LLC, BlackRock Global Long/Short Credit Fund of BlackRock Funds IV and BlackRock Capital Allocation Trust (each, a “BlackRock Entity” and collectively, the “BlackRock Entities”), pursuant to which the BlackRock Entities, among other things, agreed to purchase an aggregate of 980,392 warrants in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of the Offering (as defined below), bearing the legend set forth in Exhibit B hereto (the “BlackRock Warrants”), at a purchase price of $1.00 per BlackRock Warrant;
WHEREAS, the Company has entered into that certain Warrant Purchase Agreement with KINS Capital LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”), pursuant to which the Sponsor agreed to purchase an aggregate of 7,019,607 warrants (or 7,919,607 warrants in the aggregate if the Over-allotment Option (as defined below) in connection with the Company’s Offering is exercised in full) simultaneously with the closing of the Offering (and the closing of the Over-allotment Option, if applicable) bearing the legend set forth in Exhibit B hereto (together with the BlackRock Warrants, the “Sponsor Warrants”) at a purchase price of $1.00 per Sponsor Warrant;
WHEREAS, in order to finance the Company’s transaction costs in connection with an intended initial merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination, involving the Company and one or more businesses (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 the Company may require, of which up to $1,500,000 of such loans made to the Company may be convertible into up to an additional 1,500,000 Sponsor Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Sponsor Warrant;
WHEREAS, the Company is engaged in an initial public offering (the “Offering”) of units of the Company’s equity securities, each such unit comprised of one share of Common Stock (as defined below) and one-half of one Public Warrant (as defined below) (the “Units”) and, in connection therewith, has determined to issue and deliver up to 11,500,000 redeemable warrants (including up to 1,500,000 redeemable warrants subject to the Over-allotment Option) to public investors in the Offering (the “Public Warrants” and, together with the Sponsor Warrants, the “Warrants”). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A common stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), for $11.50 per whole share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. A holder of the Public Warrants will not be able to exercise any fraction of a Warrant;
WHEREAS, the Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 333-249177 (the “Registration Statement”) and prospectus (the “Prospectus”), for the registration, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of the Units, the Public Warrants and the shares of Common Stock included in the Units;
WHEREAS, the Company desires the Warrant Agent to act on behalf of the Company, and the Warrant Agent is willing to so act, in connection with the issuance, registration, transfer, exchange, redemption and exercise of the Warrants;
WHEREAS, the Company desires to provide for the form and provisions of the Warrants, the terms upon which they shall be issued and exercised, and the respective rights, limitation of rights, and immunities of the Company, the Warrant Agent, and the holders of the Warrants; and
WHEREAS, all acts and things have been done and performed which are necessary to make the Warrants, when executed on behalf of the Company and countersigned by or on behalf of the Warrant Agent (if a physical certificate is issued), as provided herein, the valid, binding and legal obligations of the Company, and to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual agreements herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
| 1. | Appointment of Warrant Agent. The Company hereby appoints the Warrant Agent to act as agent for the Company for the Warrants, and the Warrant Agent hereby accepts such appointment and agrees to perform the same in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. |
| 2. | Warrants. |
| 2.1 | Form of Warrant. Each Warrant shall initially be issued in registered form only. |
| 2.2 | Effect of Countersignature. If a physical certificate is issued, unless and until countersigned by the Warrant Agent, either by manual or facsimile signature, pursuant to this Agreement, a certificated Warrant shall be invalid and of no effect and may not be exercised by the holder thereof. |
| 2.3 | Registration. |
| 2.3.1 | Warrant Register. The Warrant Agent shall maintain books (the “Warrant Register”), for the registration of original issuance and the registration of transfer of the Warrants. Upon the initial issuance of the Warrants in book-entry form, the Warrant Agent shall issue and register the Warrants in the names of the respective holders thereof in such denominations and otherwise in accordance with instructions delivered to the Warrant Agent by the Company. Ownership of beneficial interests in the Public Warrants shall be shown on, and the transfer of such ownership shall be effected through, records maintained by institutions that have accounts with The Depository Trust Company (the “Depositary”) (such institution, with respect to a Warrant in its account, a “Participant”). |
If the Depositary subsequently ceases to make its book-entry settlement system available for the Public Warrants, the Company may instruct the Warrant Agent regarding making other arrangements for book-entry settlement. In the event that the Public Warrants are not eligible for, or it is no longer necessary to have the Public Warrants available in, book-entry form, the Warrant Agent shall provide written instructions to the Depositary to deliver to the Warrant Agent for cancellation each book-entry Public Warrant, and the Company shall instruct the Warrant Agent to deliver to the Depositary definitive certificates in physical form evidencing such Warrants (“Definitive Warrant Certificates”) which shall be in the form annexed hereto as Exhibit A.
Physical certificates, if issued, shall be signed by, or bear the facsimile signature of, the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer, Secretary or other principal officer of the Company. In the event the person whose facsimile signature has been placed upon any Warrant shall have ceased to serve in the capacity in which such person signed the Warrant before such Warrant is issued, it may be issued with the same effect as if he or she had not ceased to be such at the date of issuance.
| 2.3.2 | Registered Holder. Prior to due presentment for registration of transfer of any Warrant, the Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the person in whose name such Warrant is registered in the Warrant Register (the “Registered Holder”) as the absolute owner of such Warrant and of each Warrant represented thereby (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing on any physical certificate made by anyone other than the Company or the Warrant Agent), for the purpose of any exercise thereof, and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary. |
| 2.4 | Detachability of Warrants. The shares of Common Stock and Public Warrants comprising the Units shall begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of the Prospectus or, if such 52nd day is not on a day, other than a Saturday, Sunday or federal holiday, on which banks in New York City are generally open for normal business (a “Business Day”), then on the immediately succeeding Business Day following such date, or earlier (the “Detachment Date”) with the consent of UBS Securities LLC, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and BTIG, LLC, but in no event shall the shares of Common Stock and the Public Warrants comprising the Units be separately traded until (A) the Company has filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission containing an audited balance sheet reflecting the receipt by the Company of the gross proceeds of the Offering, including the proceeds then received by the Company from the exercise by the underwriters of their right to purchase additional Units in the Offering (the “Over-allotment Option”), if the Over-allotment Option is exercised prior to the filing of the Current Report on Form 8-K, and (B) the Company issues a press release announcing when such separate trading shall begin. |
2
| 2.5 | Fractional Warrants. The Company shall not issue fractional Warrants other than as part of the Units. If, upon the detachment of Public Warrants from the Units or otherwise, a holder of Warrants would be entitled to receive a fractional Warrant, the Company shall round down to the nearest whole number the number of Warrants to be issued to such holder. |
| 2.6 | Sponsor Warrants. The Sponsor Warrants shall be identical to the Public Warrants, except that so long as they are held by the Sponsor, a BlackRock Entity or any of its Permitted Transferees (as defined below) the Sponsor Warrants: (i) may be exercised for cash or on a cashless basis, pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(c) hereof, (ii) including the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Sponsor Warrants, may not be transferred, assigned or sold until thirty (30) days after the completion by the Company of an initial Business Combination, and (iii) shall not be redeemable by the Company pursuant to Section 6.1; provided, however, that in the case of (ii), the Sponsor Warrants and any shares of Common Stock issued upon exercise of the Sponsor Warrants may be transferred by the holders thereof: |
| (a) | to the Company’s officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of the Company’s officers or directors, any members of the Sponsor, or any affiliates of the Sponsor or any employee or partner of any such affiliate; |
| (b) | in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family or an affiliate of such person, or to a charitable organization; |
| (c) | in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; |
| (d) | in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; |
| (e) | by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination at prices no greater than the price at which the securities were originally purchased; |
| (f) | in the event of the Company’s liquidation prior to the Company’s completion of an initial Business Combination; |
| (g) | by virtue of the laws of Delaware or the Sponsor’s limited liability company agreement, as amended, upon dissolution of the Sponsor; |
| (h) | in the event of the Company’s completion of a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of the Company’s stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of Common Stock for cash, securities or other property subsequent to the completion of the initial Business Combination; or |
| (i) | in the case of the BlackRock Entities, to such investors’ affiliates, or any investment fund or other entity controlled or managed by such investors, or to any investment manager or investment advisor of the BlackRock Entities or an affiliate of any such investment manager or investment advisor; |
provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees (the “Permitted Transferees”) must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in this Agreement.
| 3. | Terms and Exercise of Warrants. |
| 3.1 | Warrant Price. Each Warrant shall entitle the Registered Holder thereof, subject to the provisions of such Warrant and of this Agreement, to purchase from the Company the number of shares of Common Stock stated therein, at the price of $11.50 per whole share, subject to the adjustments provided in Section 4 hereof and in the last sentence of this Section 3.1. The term “Warrant Price” as used in this Agreement shall mean the price per share (including in cash or by payment of Warrants pursuant to a “cashless exercise,” to the extent permitted hereunder) described in the prior sentence at which shares of Common Stock may be purchased at the time a Warrant is exercised. The Company in its sole discretion may lower the Warrant Price at any time prior to the Expiration Date (as defined below) for a period of not less than twenty (20) Business Days, provided, that the Company shall provide at least three (3) Business Days prior written notice of such reduction to Registered Holders of the Warrants and, provided further that any such reduction shall be identical among all of the Warrants. |
3
| 3.2 | Duration of Warrants. A Warrant may be exercised only during the period (the “Exercise Period”) (A) commencing on the later of: (i) the date that is thirty (30) days after the first date on which the Company completes a Business Combination, and (ii) the date that is twelve (12) months from the date of the closing of the Offering, and (B) terminating at the earlier to occur of: (w) 5:00 p.m., New York City time on the date that is five (5) years after the date on which the Company completes its initial Business Combination, (x) the liquidation of the Company in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended from time to time, if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination, and (y) other than with respect to the Sponsor Warrants then held by the Sponsor, a BlackRock Entity or their Permitted Transferees with respect to a redemption pursuant to Section 6.2 hereof, the Redemption Date (as defined below) as provided in Section 6.3 hereof (the “Expiration Date”); provided, however, that the exercise of any Warrant shall be subject to the satisfaction of any applicable conditions, as set forth in subsection 3.3.2 below, with respect to an effective registration statement or a valid exemption therefrom being available. Except with respect to the right to receive the Redemption Price (as defined below) (other than with respect to a Sponsor Warrant then held by the Sponsor, a BlackRock Entity or their Permitted Transferees in connection with a redemption pursuant to Section 6.2 hereof) in the event of a redemption (as set forth in Section 6 hereof), each Warrant (other than a Sponsor Warrant then held by the Sponsor, a BlackRock Entity or their Permitted Transferees in the event of a redemption pursuant to Section 6.2 hereof) not exercised on or before the Expiration Date shall become null and void, and all rights thereunder and all rights in respect thereof under this Agreement shall cease at 5:00 p.m. New York City time on the Expiration Date. The Company in its sole discretion may extend the duration of the Warrants by delaying the Expiration Date; provided that the Company shall provide at least twenty (20) days prior written notice of any such extension to Registered Holders of the Warrants and, provided further that any such extension shall be identical in duration among all the Warrants. |
| 3.3 | Exercise of Warrants. |
| 3.3.1 | Payment. Subject to the provisions of the Warrant and this Agreement, a Warrant may be exercised by the Registered Holder thereof by delivering to the Warrant Agent at its corporate trust department (i) the Definitive Warrant Certificate evidencing the Warrants to be exercised, or, in the case of a Warrant represented by a book-entry, the Warrants to be exercised (the “Book-Entry Warrants”) on the records of the Depositary to an account of the Warrant Agent at the Depositary designated for such purposes in writing by the Warrant Agent to the Depositary from time to time, (ii) an election to purchase (“Election to Purchase”) any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant, properly completed and executed by the Registered Holder on the reverse of the Definitive Warrant Certificate or, in the case of a Book-Entry Warrant, properly delivered by the Participant in accordance with the Depositary’s procedures, and (iii) the payment in full of the Warrant Price for each share of Common Stock as to which the Warrant is exercised and any and all applicable taxes due in connection with the exercise of the Warrant, the exchange of the Warrant for the shares of Common Stock and the issuance of such shares of Common Stock, as follows: |
| (a) | in lawful money of the United States, in good certified check or good bank draft payable to the order of the Warrant Agent; |
| (b) | in the event of a redemption pursuant to Section 6.1 hereof in which the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) has elected to require all holders of the Warrants to exercise such Warrants on a “cashless basis,” by surrendering the Warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “Fair Market Value” (as defined in this subsection 3.3.1(b)) over the Warrant Price by (y) the Fair Market Value and (B) 0.361. Solely for purposes of this subsection 3.3.1(b), Section 6.1 and Section 6.4, the “Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of the Warrants, pursuant to Section 6 hereof; |
| (c) | with respect to any Sponsor Warrant, so long as such Sponsor Warrant is held by the Sponsor, a BlackRock Entity or a Permitted Transferee, by surrendering the Warrants for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to (i) if in connection with a redemption of Sponsor Warrants pursuant to Section 6.2 hereof, as provided in Section 6.2 hereof with respect to a Make-Whole Exercise (as defined below) and (ii) in all other scenarios, the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “Fair Market Value” (as defined in this subsection 3.3.1(c)) over the Warrant Price, by (y) the Fair Market Value. Solely for purposes of this subsection 3.3.1(c), the “Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading days immediately following the date on which notice of exercise of the Warrant is sent to the Warrant Agent; |
4
| (d) | as provided in Section 6.2 with respect to a Make-Whole Exercise; or |
| (e) | as provided in Section 7.4 hereof. |
The Warrant Agent shall forward funds received for warrant exercises in a given month by the 5th (5th) Business Day of the following month by wire transfer to an account designated by the Company.
| 3.3.2 | Issuance of Shares of Common Stock on Exercise. As soon as practicable after the exercise of any Warrant and the clearance of the funds in payment of the Warrant Price (if payment is pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(a)), the Company shall issue to the Registered Holder of such Warrant a book-entry position or certificate, as applicable, for the number of full shares of Common Stock to which he, she or it is entitled, registered in such name or names as may be directed by him, her or it, and if such Warrant shall not have been exercised in full, a new book-entry position or countersigned Warrant, as applicable, for the number of shares of Common Stock as to which such Warrant shall not have been exercised. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company shall not be obligated to deliver any shares of Common Stock pursuant to the exercise of a Warrant and shall have no obligation to settle such Warrant exercise unless (a) a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Common Stock underlying the Public Warrants is then effective and (b) a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company’s satisfying its obligations under Section 7.4 or a valid exemption from registration is available. No Warrant shall be exercisable and the Company shall not be obligated to issue shares of Common Stock upon exercise of a Warrant unless the shares of Common Stock issuable upon such Warrant exercise have been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt from registration or qualification under the securities laws of the state of residence of the Registered Holder of the Warrants. Subject to Section 4.6 of this Agreement, a Registered Holder of Public Warrants may exercise its Public Warrants only for a whole number of shares of Common Stock. In no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Warrant exercise. The Company may require holders of Public Warrants to settle the Warrant on a “cashless basis” pursuant to Section 7.4. If, by reason of any exercise of Warrants on a “cashless basis,” the holder of any Warrant would be entitled, upon the exercise of such Warrant, to receive a fractional interest in a share of Common Stock, the Company shall round down to the nearest whole number, the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to such holder. |
| 3.3.3 | Valid Issuance. All shares of Common Stock issued upon the proper exercise of a Warrant in conformity with this Agreement shall be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. |
| 3.3.4 | Date of Issuance. Each person in whose name any book-entry position or certificate, as applicable, for shares of Common Stock is issued shall for all purposes be deemed to have become the holder of record of such shares of Common Stock on the date on which the Warrant, or book-entry position representing such Warrant, was surrendered and payment of the Warrant Price was made, irrespective of the date of delivery of such certificate in the case of a certificated Warrant, except that, if the date of such surrender and payment is a date when the share transfer books of the Company or book-entry system of the Warrant Agent are closed, such person shall be deemed to have become the holder of such shares of Common Stock at the close of business on the next succeeding date on which the share transfer books or book-entry system are open. |
5
| 3.3.5 | Maximum Percentage. A holder of a Warrant may notify the Company in writing in the event it elects to be subject to the provisions contained in this subsection 3.3.5; however, no holder of a Warrant shall be subject to this subsection 3.3.5 unless he, she or it makes such election. If the election is made by a holder, such holder shall not have the right to exercise such Warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the Warrant Agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 9.8% or such other amount as the holder may specify (the “Maximum Percentage”) of the shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise. For purposes of the foregoing sentence, the aggregate number of shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates shall include the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrant with respect to which the determination of such sentence is being made, but shall exclude shares of Common Stock that would be issuable upon (x) exercise of the remaining, unexercised portion of the Warrant beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates and (y) exercise or conversion of the unexercised or unconverted portion of any other securities of the Company beneficially owned by such person and its affiliates (including, without limitation, any convertible notes or convertible preferred stock or warrants) subject to a limitation on conversion or exercise analogous to the limitation contained herein. Except as set forth in the preceding sentence, for purposes of this paragraph, beneficial ownership shall be calculated in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). For purposes of the Warrant, in determining the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock, the holder may rely on the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock as reflected in (1) the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Current Report on Form 8-K or other public filing with the Commission, as the case may be, (2) a more recent public announcement by the Company or (3) any other notice by the Company or the Company’s transfer agent setting forth the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. For any reason at any time, upon the written request of the holder of the Warrant, the Company shall, within two (2) Business Days confirm orally and in writing to such holder the number of shares of Common Stock then outstanding. In any case, the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock shall be determined after giving effect to the conversion or exercise of equity securities of the Company by the holder and its affiliates since the date as of which such number of outstanding shares of Common Stock was reported. By written notice to the Company, the holder of a Warrant may from time to time increase or decrease the Maximum Percentage applicable to such holder to any other percentage specified in such notice; provided, however, that any such increase shall not be effective until the sixty-first (61st) day after such notice is delivered to the Company. |
| 4. | Adjustments. |
| 4.1 | Stock Dividends. |
| 4.1.1 | Split-Ups. If after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.6 below, the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of Common Stock, or by a split-up of shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant shall be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of Common Stock. A rights offering to holders of shares of Common Stock entitling holders to purchase shares of Common Stock at a price less than the “Fair Market Value” (as defined below) shall be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of Common Stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for the shares of Common Stock) multiplied by (ii) one (1) minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of Common Stock paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the Fair Market Value. For purposes of this subsection 4.1.1, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of Common Stock, in determining the price payable for shares of Common Stock, there shall be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “Fair Market Value” means the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of Common Stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights. |
6
| 4.1.2 | Extraordinary Dividends. If the Company, at any time while the Warrants are outstanding and unexpired, shall pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of the shares of Common Stock on account of such shares of Common Stock (or other shares of the Company’s capital stock into which the Warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described in subsection 4.1.1 above, (b) Ordinary Cash Dividends (as defined below), (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of the shares of Common Stock in connection with a proposed initial Business Combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of the shares of Common Stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to allow redemptions in connection with its initial Business Combination or to redeem 100% of the Company’s public shares of Common Stock if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination within the time period set forth therein or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to the Company’s stockholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of public shares upon the failure of the Company to complete its initial Business Combination and any subsequent distribution of its assets upon its liquidation (any such non-excluded event being referred to herein as an “Extraordinary Dividend”), then the Warrant Price shall be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such Extraordinary Dividend, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value (as determined by the Board, in good faith) of any securities or other assets paid on each share of Common Stock in respect of such Extraordinary Dividend. For purposes of this subsection 4.1.2, “Ordinary Cash Dividends” means any cash dividend or cash distribution which, when combined on a per share basis, with the per share amounts of all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the shares of Common Stock during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution to the extent it does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any of the events referred to in other subsections of this Section 4 and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the Warrant Price or to the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant). |
| 4.2 | Aggregation of Shares. If after the date hereof, and subject to the provisions of Section 4.6 hereof, the number of outstanding shares of Common Stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of shares of Common Stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of Common Stock issuable on exercise of each Warrant shall be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of Common Stock. |
| 4.3 | Adjustments in Exercise Price. |
| 4.3.1 | Whenever the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants is adjusted, the Warrant Price shall be adjusted (to the nearest cent) by multiplying such Warrant Price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which shall be the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable upon the exercise of the Warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which shall be the number of shares of Common Stock so purchasable immediately thereafter. |
| 4.3.2 | If (x) the Company issues additional shares of Common Stock or debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for shares of Common Stock, in each case for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of its initial Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Common Stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Board and, in the case of any such issuance to the Founders or their affiliates, without taking into account any shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of the Company held by the Founders or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of the Company’s initial Business Combination on the date of the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of Common Stock during the twenty (20) trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the Warrant Price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described in Section 6.1 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 described in Section 6.2 will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
7
| 4.4 | Replacement of Securities upon Reorganization, etc. In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Common Stock (other than a change under Section 4.1 or Section 4.2 hereof or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of the Company with or into another corporation (other than a merger or consolidation in which the Company is the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding shares of Common Stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of the Company as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which the Company is dissolved, the holders of the Warrants shall thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the Warrants and in lieu of the shares of Common Stock of the Company immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the Warrants would have received if such holder had exercised his, her or its Warrant(s) immediately prior to such event (the “Alternative Issuance”); provided, however, that (i) if the holders of the shares of Common Stock were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such merger or consolidation, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets constituting the Alternative Issuance for which each Warrant shall become exercisable shall be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by the holders of the shares of Common Stock in such merger or consolidation that affirmatively make such election, and (ii) if a tender, exchange or redemption offer shall have been made to and accepted by the holders of the shares of Common Stock (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the Company in connection with redemption rights held by stockholders of the Company as provided for in the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation or as a result of the repurchase of shares of Common Stock by the Company if a proposed initial Business Combination is presented to the stockholders of the Company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act (or any successor rule)) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act (or any successor rule)) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act (or any successor rule)) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of Common Stock, the holder of a Warrant shall be entitled to receive as the Alternative Issuance, the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a stockholder if such Warrant holder had exercised the Warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the shares of Common Stock held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustments (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in this Section 4; provided, further, that if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of the shares of Common Stock in the applicable event is payable in the form of common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the Registered Holder properly exercises the Warrant within thirty (30) days following the public disclosure of the consummation of such applicable event by the Company pursuant to a Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Commission, the Warrant Price shall be reduced by an amount (in dollars) equal to the difference of (i) the Warrant Price in effect prior to such reduction minus (ii) (A) the Per Share Consideration (as defined below) (but in no event less than zero) minus (B) the Black-Scholes Warrant Value (as defined below). The “Black-Scholes Warrant Value” means the value of a Warrant immediately prior to the consummation of the applicable event based on the Black-Scholes Warrant Model for a Capped American Call on Bloomberg Financial Markets (“Bloomberg”). For purposes of calculating such amount, (1) Section 6 of this Agreement shall be taken into account, (2) the price of each share of Common Stock shall be the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the effective date of the applicable event, (3) the assumed volatility shall be the 90 day volatility obtained from the HVT function on Bloomberg determined as of the trading day immediately prior to the day of the announcement of the applicable event, and (4) the assumed risk-free interest rate shall correspond to the U.S. Treasury rate for a period equal to the remaining term of the Warrant. “Per Share Consideration” means (i) if the consideration paid to holders of the shares of Common Stock consists exclusively of cash, the amount of such cash per share of Common Stock, and (ii) in all other cases, the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the effective date of the applicable event. If any reclassification or reorganization also results in a change in shares of Common Stock covered by subsection 4.1.1, then such adjustment shall be made pursuant to subsection 4.1.1 or Sections 4.2, 4.3 and this Section 4.4. The provisions of this Section 4.4 shall similarly apply to successive reclassifications, reorganizations, mergers or consolidations, sales or other transfers. In no event will the Warrant Price be reduced to less than the par value per share issuable upon exercise of the Warrant. |
8
| 4.5 | Notices of Changes in Warrant. Upon every adjustment of the Warrant Price or the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of a Warrant, the Company shall give written notice thereof to the Warrant Agent, which notice shall state the Warrant Price resulting from such adjustment and the increase or decrease, if any, in the number of shares of Common Stock purchasable at such price upon the exercise of a Warrant, setting forth in reasonable detail the method of calculation and the facts upon which such calculation is based. Upon the occurrence of any event specified in Sections 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 or 4.4, the Company shall give written notice of the occurrence of such event to each holder of a Warrant, at the last address set forth for such holder in the Warrant Register, of the record date or the effective date of the event. Failure to give such notice, or any defect therein, shall not affect the legality or validity of such event. |
| 4.6 | No Fractional Shares. Notwithstanding any provision contained in this Agreement to the contrary, the Company shall not issue fractional shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of Warrants. If, by reason of any adjustment made pursuant to this Section 4, the holder of any Warrant would be entitled, upon the exercise of such Warrant, to receive a fractional interest in a share, the Company shall, upon such exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to such holder. |
| 4.7 | Form of Warrant. The form of Warrant need not be changed because of any adjustment pursuant to this Section 4, and Warrants issued after such adjustment may state the same Warrant Price and the same number of shares of Common Stock as is stated in the Warrants initially issued pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company may at any time in its sole discretion make any change in the form of Warrant that the Company may deem appropriate and that does not affect the substance thereof, and any Warrant thereafter issued or countersigned, whether in exchange or substitution for an outstanding Warrant or otherwise, may be in the form as so changed. |
| 4.8 | Other Events. In case any event shall occur affecting the Company as to which none of the provisions of preceding subsections of this Section 4 are strictly applicable, but which would require an adjustment to the terms of the Warrants in order to (i) avoid an adverse impact on the Warrants and (ii) effectuate the intent and purpose of this Section 4, then, in each such case, the Company shall appoint a firm of independent public accountants, investment banking or other appraisal firm of recognized national standing, which shall give its opinion as to whether or not any adjustment to the rights represented by the Warrants is necessary to effectuate the intent and purpose of this Section 4 and, if they determine that an adjustment is necessary, the terms of such adjustment; provided, however, that under no circumstances shall the Warrants be adjusted pursuant to this Section 4.8 as a result of any issuance of securities in connection with a Business Combination. The Company shall adjust the terms of the Warrants in a manner that is consistent with any adjustment recommended in such opinion. |
| 5. | Transfer and Exchange of Warrants. |
| 5.1 | Registration of Transfer. The Warrant Agent shall register the transfer, from time to time, of any outstanding Warrant upon the Warrant Register, upon surrender of such Warrant for transfer, properly endorsed with signatures properly guaranteed and accompanied by appropriate instructions for transfer. Upon any such transfer, a new Warrant representing an equal aggregate number of Warrants shall be issued and the old Warrant shall be cancelled by the Warrant Agent. In the case of certificated Warrants, the Warrants so cancelled shall be delivered by the Warrant Agent to the Company from time to time upon request. |
| 5.2 | Procedure for Surrender of Warrants. Warrants may be surrendered to the Warrant Agent, together with a written request for exchange or transfer reasonably acceptable to the Warrant Agent, duly executed by the registered holder thereof, or by a duly authorized attorney, and thereupon the Warrant Agent shall issue in exchange therefor one or more new Warrants as requested by the Registered Holder of the Warrants so surrendered, representing an equal aggregate number of Warrants; provided, however, that except as otherwise provided herein or in any Book-Entry Warrant, each Book-Entry Warrant may be transferred only in whole and only to the Depositary, to another nominee of the Depositary, to a successor depository, or to a nominee of a successor depository; provided further, however, that in the event that a Warrant surrendered for transfer bears a restrictive legend (as in the case of the Sponsor Warrants), the Warrant Agent shall not cancel such Warrant and issue new Warrants in exchange thereof until the Warrant Agent has received an opinion of counsel for the Company stating that such transfer may be made and indicating whether the new Warrants must also bear a restrictive legend. |
9
| 5.3 | Fractional Warrants. The Warrant Agent shall not be required to effect any registration of transfer or exchange which shall result in the issuance of a warrant certificate or book-entry position for a fraction of a warrant, except as part of the Units. |
| 5.4 | Service Charges. No service charge shall be made for any exchange or registration of transfer of Warrants. |
| 5.5 | Warrant Execution and Countersignature. The Warrant Agent is hereby authorized to countersign and to deliver, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, the Warrants required to be issued pursuant to the provisions of this Section 5, and the Company, whenever required by the Warrant Agent, shall supply the Warrant Agent with Warrants duly executed on behalf of the Company for such purpose. |
| 5.6 | Transfer of Warrants. Prior to the Detachment Date, the Public Warrants may be transferred or exchanged only together with the Unit in which such Warrant is included, and only for the purpose of effecting, or in conjunction with, a transfer or exchange of such Unit. Furthermore, each transfer of a Unit on the register relating to such Units shall operate also to transfer the Warrants included in such Unit. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the provisions of this Section 5.6 shall have no effect on any transfer of Warrants on and after the Detachment Date. |
| 6. | Redemption. |
| 6.1 | Redemption of Warrants when the price per share of Common Stock equals or exceeds $18.00. Subject to Section 6.5 hereof, not less than all of the outstanding Warrants may be redeemed, at the option of the Company, at any time while they are exercisable and prior to their expiration, at the office(s) of the Warrant Agent, upon notice to the Registered Holders of the Warrants, as described in Section 6.3 below, at the price (the “Redemption Price”) of $0.01 per Warrant, provided that (i) the last sales price of the Common Stock reported has been at least $18.00 per share (subject to adjustment in compliance with Section 4 hereof), on each of twenty (20) trading days, within the thirty (30) trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which notice of the redemption is given and (ii) there is an effective registration statement covering the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the 30-day Redemption Period (as defined in Section 6.3 below) or the Company has elected to require the exercise of the Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to subsection 3.3.1. |
| 6.2 | Redemption of Warrants when the price per share of Common Stock equals or exceeds $10.00. Subject to Section 6.5 hereof, not less than all of the outstanding Warrants may be redeemed, at the option of the Company, commencing ninety (90) days after they are first exercisable and prior to their expiration, at the office of the Warrant Agent, upon notice to the Registered Holders of the Warrants, as described in Section 6.3 below, at a Redemption Price of $0.10 per Warrant, provided that (i) the last reported sales price of the Common Stock reported has been at least $10.00 per share (subject to adjustment in compliance with Section 4 hereof), on the trading day prior to the date on which notice of the redemption is given, (ii) the Sponsor Warrants are also concurrently called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants and (iii) there is an effective registration statement covering the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, and a current prospectus relating thereto, available throughout the 30-day Redemption Period (as defined in Section 6.3 below). During the Redemption Period in connection with a redemption pursuant to this Section 6.2, Registered Holders of the Warrants may elect to exercise their Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to subsection 3.3.1 and receive a number of shares of Common Stock determined by reference to the table below, based on the Redemption Date (calculated for purposes of the table as the period to expiration of the Warrants) and the “Fair Market Value” (as such term is defined in subsection 3.3.1(b)) (a “Make-Whole Exercise”). |
10
| Fair Market Value of shares of Common Stock ($) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Redemption Date (period to expiration of the Warrants) | ≤10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | ≥18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 59 months | 0.236 | 0.257 | 0.277 | 0.295 | 0.311 | 0.325 | 0.338 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 57 months | 0.233 | 0.255 | 0.275 | 0.293 | 0.309 | 0.324 | 0.338 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 54 months | 0.229 | 0.251 | 0.272 | 0.291 | 0.307 | 0.323 | 0.337 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 51 months | 0.225 | 0.248 | 0.269 | 0.288 | 0.305 | 0.321 | 0.336 | 0.349 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 48 months | 0.220 | 0.243 | 0.265 | 0.285 | 0.303 | 0.320 | 0.335 | 0.349 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 45 months | 0.214 | 0.239 | 0.261 | 0.282 | 0.301 | 0.318 | 0.334 | 0.348 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 42 months | 0.208 | 0.234 | 0.257 | 0.278 | 0.298 | 0.316 | 0.333 | 0.348 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39 months | 0.202 | 0.228 | 0.252 | 0.275 | 0.295 | 0.314 | 0.331 | 0.347 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 36 months | 0.195 | 0.222 | 0.247 | 0.271 | 0.292 | 0.312 | 0.330 | 0.346 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 33 months | 0.187 | 0.215 | 0.241 | 0.266 | 0.288 | 0.309 | 0.328 | 0.345 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 months | 0.179 | 0.208 | 0.235 | 0.261 | 0.284 | 0.306 | 0.326 | 0.345 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 months | 0.170 | 0.199 | 0.228 | 0.255 | 0.280 | 0.303 | 0.324 | 0.343 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24 months | 0.159 | 0.190 | 0.220 | 0.248 | 0.274 | 0.299 | 0.322 | 0.342 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 months | 0.148 | 0.179 | 0.210 | 0.240 | 0.268 | 0.295 | 0.319 | 0.341 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 months | 0.135 | 0.167 | 0.200 | 0.231 | 0.261 | 0.289 | 0.315 | 0.339 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 months | 0.120 | 0.153 | 0.187 | 0.220 | 0.253 | 0.283 | 0.311 | 0.337 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 months | 0.103 | 0.137 | 0.172 | 0.207 | 0.242 | 0.275 | 0.306 | 0.335 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 months | 0.083 | 0.117 | 0.153 | 0.191 | 0.229 | 0.266 | 0.300 | 0.332 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 months | 0.059 | 0.092 | 0.130 | 0.171 | 0.213 | 0.254 | 0.292 | 0.328 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 months | 0.030 | 0.060 | 0.100 | 0.145 | 0.193 | 0.240 | 0.284 | 0.324 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 months | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.042 | 0.115 | 0.179 | 0.233 | 0.281 | 0.324 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The exact Fair Market Value and Redemption Date (as defined below) may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the Fair Market Value is between two values in the table or the Redemption Date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued for each Warrant exercised in a Make-Whole Exercise will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower Fair Market Values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365- or 366-day year, as applicable.
The stock prices set forth in the column headings of the table above shall be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant is adjusted pursuant to Section 4. The adjusted stock prices in the column headings shall equal the stock prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a Warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a Warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table above shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a Warrant. In no event will the number of shares issued in connection with a Make-Whole Exercise exceed 0.361 shares of Common Stock per Warrant (subject to adjustment).
| 6.3 | Date Fixed for, and Notice of, Redemption. In the event that the Company elects to redeem all of the Warrants pursuant to Sections 6.1 or 6.2, the Company shall fix a date for the redemption (the “Redemption Date”). Notice of redemption shall be mailed by first class mail, postage prepaid, by the Company not less than thirty (30) days prior to the Redemption Date (such 30-day period, the “Redemption Period”) to the Registered Holders of the Warrants to be redeemed at their last addresses as they shall appear on the registration books. Any notice mailed in the manner herein provided shall be conclusively presumed to have been duly given whether or not the Registered Holder received such notice. |
| 6.4 | Exercise After Notice of Redemption. The Warrants may be exercised, for cash (or on a “cashless basis” in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(b) or Section 6.2 of this Agreement) at any time after notice of redemption shall have been given by the Company pursuant to Section 6.3 hereof and prior to the Redemption Date. In the event that the Company determines to require all holders of Warrants to exercise their Warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to subsection 3.3.1, the notice of redemption shall contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Common Stock to be received upon exercise of the Warrants, including the “Fair Market Value” (as such term is defined in subsection 3.3.1(b) hereof) in such case. On and after the Redemption Date, the record holder of the Warrants shall have no further rights except to receive, upon surrender of the Warrants, the Redemption Price. |
11
| 6.5 | Exclusion of Sponsor Warrants. The Company agrees that the redemption rights provided in Section 6.1 shall not apply to the Sponsor Warrants if at the time of the redemption such Sponsor Warrants continue to be held by the initial holder thereof or its Permitted Transferees. However, once such Sponsor Warrants are transferred (other than to Permitted Transferees under subsection 2.6), the Company may redeem the Sponsor Warrants, provided that the criteria for redemption are met, including the opportunity of the holder of such Sponsor Warrants to exercise the Sponsor Warrants prior to redemption pursuant to Section 6.4. Sponsor Warrants that are transferred to persons other than Permitted Transferees shall upon such transfer cease to be Sponsor Warrants and shall become Public Warrants under this Agreement. |
| 7. | Other Provisions Relating to Rights of Holders of Warrants. |
| 7.1 | No Rights as Stockholder. A Warrant does not entitle the Registered Holder thereof to any of the rights of a stockholder of the Company, including, without limitation, the right to receive dividends, or other distributions, exercise any preemptive rights to vote or to consent or to receive notice as stockholders in respect of the meetings of stockholders or the election of directors of the Company or any other matter. |
| 7.2 | Lost, Stolen, Mutilated, or Destroyed Warrants. If any Warrant is lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed, the Company and the Warrant Agent may on such terms as to indemnity or otherwise as they may in their discretion impose (which shall, in the case of a mutilated Warrant, include the surrender thereof), issue a new Warrant of like denomination, tenor, and date as the Warrant so lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed. Any such new Warrant shall constitute a substitute contractual obligation of the Company, whether or not the allegedly lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed Warrant shall be at any time enforceable by anyone. |
| 7.3 | Reservation of Shares of Common Stock. The Company shall at all times reserve and keep available a number of its authorized but unissued shares of Common Stock that shall be sufficient to permit the exercise in full of all outstanding Warrants issued pursuant to this Agreement. |
| 7.4 | Registration of Shares of Common Stock; Cashless Exercise at Company’s Option. |
| 7.4.1 | Registration of Shares of Common Stock. The Company agrees that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty (20) Business Days after the closing of its initial Business Combination, it shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the Commission a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants. The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the Warrants in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. If any such registration statement has not been declared effective by the 60th Business Day following the closing of the Business Combination, holders of the Warrants shall have the right, during the period beginning on the 61st Business Day after the closing of the Business Combination and ending upon such registration statement being declared effective by the Commission, and during any other period when the Company shall fail to have maintained an effective registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, to exercise such Warrants on a “cashless basis,” by exchanging the Warrants (in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act (or any successor statute) or another exemption) for that number of shares of Common Stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “Fair Market Value” (as defined below) over the Warrant Price by (y) the Fair Market Value and (B) 0.361 shares of Common Stock per Warrant. Solely for purposes of this subsection 7.4.1, “Fair Market Value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the Common Stock as reported during the ten (10) trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date that notice of exercise is received by the Warrant Agent from the holder of such Warrants or its securities broker or intermediary. The date that notice of “cashless exercise” is received by the Warrant Agent shall be conclusively determined by the Warrant Agent. In connection with the “cashless exercise” of a Public Warrant, the Company shall, upon request, provide the Warrant Agent with an opinion of counsel for the Company (which shall be an outside law firm with securities law experience) stating that (i) the exercise of the Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with this subsection 7.4.1 is not required to be registered under the Securities Act and (ii) the shares of Common Stock issued upon such exercise shall be freely tradable under United States federal securities laws by anyone who is not an affiliate (as such term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act (or any successor rule)) of the Company and, accordingly, shall not be required to bear a restrictive legend. Except as provided in subsection 7.4.2, for the avoidance of doubt, unless and until all of the Warrants have been exercised or have expired, the Company shall continue to be obligated to comply with its registration obligations under the first three sentences of this subsection 7.4.1. |
12
| 7.4.2 | Cashless Exercise at Company’s Option. If Common Stock is at the time of any exercise of a Warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act (or any successor statute), the Company may, at its option, (i) require holders of Public Warrants who exercise Public Warrants to exercise such Public Warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act (or any successor statute) as described in subsection 7.4.1 and (ii) in the event the Company so elects, the Company shall (x) not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, and (y) use its commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify for sale the shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrant under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. |
| 8. | Concerning the Warrant Agent and Other Matters. |
| 8.1 | Payment of Taxes. The Company shall from time to time promptly pay all taxes and charges that may be imposed upon the Company or the Warrant Agent in respect of the issuance or delivery of shares of Common Stock upon the exercise of the Warrants, but the Company and the Warrant Agent shall not be obligated to pay any transfer taxes in respect of the Warrants or such shares of Common Stock. |
| 8.2 | Resignation, Consolidation, or Merger of Warrant Agent. |
| 8.2.1 | Appointment of Successor Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent, or any successor to it hereafter appointed, may resign its duties and be discharged from all further duties and liabilities hereunder after giving sixty (60) days’ notice in writing to the Company. If the office of the Warrant Agent becomes vacant by resignation or incapacity to act or otherwise, the Company shall appoint in writing a successor Warrant Agent in place of the Warrant Agent. If the Company shall fail to make such appointment within a period of thirty (30) days after it has been notified in writing of such resignation or incapacity by the Warrant Agent or by the holder of a Warrant (who shall, with such notice, submit his, her or its Warrant for inspection by the Company), then the holder of any Warrant may apply to the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of New York for the appointment of a successor Warrant Agent at the Company’s cost. Any successor Warrant Agent, whether appointed by the Company or by such court, shall be a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, in good standing and having its principal office in the Borough of Manhattan, City and State of New York, and authorized under such laws to exercise corporate trust powers and subject to supervision or examination by federal or state authority. After appointment, any successor Warrant Agent shall be vested with all the authority, powers, rights, immunities, duties, and obligations of its predecessor Warrant Agent with like effect as if originally named as Warrant Agent hereunder, without any further act or deed; but if for any reason it becomes necessary or appropriate, the predecessor Warrant Agent shall execute and deliver, at the expense of the Company, an instrument transferring to such successor Warrant Agent all the authority, powers, and rights of such predecessor Warrant Agent hereunder; and upon request of any successor Warrant Agent the Company shall make, execute, acknowledge, and deliver any and all instruments in writing for more fully and effectually vesting in and confirming to such successor Warrant Agent all such authority, powers, rights, immunities, duties, and obligations. |
| 8.2.2 | Notice of Successor Warrant Agent. In the event a successor Warrant Agent shall be appointed, the Company shall give notice thereof to the predecessor Warrant Agent and the Company’s transfer agent for the shares of Common Stock not later than the effective date of any such appointment. |
13
| 8.2.3 | Merger or Consolidation of Warrant Agent. Any entity into which the Warrant Agent may be merged or with which it may be consolidated or any entity resulting from any merger or consolidation to which the Warrant Agent shall be a party shall be the successor Warrant Agent under this Agreement without any further act. |
| 8.3 | Fees and Expenses of Warrant Agent. |
| 8.3.1 | Remuneration. The Company agrees to pay the Warrant Agent reasonable remuneration for its services as such Warrant Agent hereunder and shall, pursuant to its obligations under this Agreement, reimburse the Warrant Agent upon demand for all expenditures that the Warrant Agent may reasonably incur in the execution of its duties hereunder. |
| 8.3.2 | Further Assurances. The Company agrees to perform, execute, acknowledge, and deliver or cause to be performed, executed, acknowledged, and delivered all such further and other acts, instruments, and assurances as may reasonably be required by the Warrant Agent for the carrying out or performing of the provisions of this Agreement. |
| 8.4 | Liability of Warrant Agent. |
| 8.4.1 | Reliance on Company Statement. Whenever in the performance of its duties under this Agreement, the Warrant Agent shall deem it necessary or desirable that any fact or matter be proved or established by the Company prior to taking or suffering any action hereunder, such fact or matter (unless other evidence in respect thereof be herein specifically prescribed) may be deemed to be conclusively proved and established by a statement signed by the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President, the Chief Financial Officer or the Secretary of the Company and delivered to the Warrant Agent. The Warrant Agent may rely upon such statement for any action taken or suffered in good faith by it pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement. |
| 8.4.2 | Indemnity. The Warrant Agent shall be liable hereunder only for its own gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith. The Company agrees to indemnify the Warrant Agent and save it harmless against any and all liabilities, including judgments, costs and reasonable counsel fees, for anything done or omitted by the Warrant Agent in the execution of this Agreement, except as a result of the Warrant Agent’s gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith. |
| 8.4.3 | Exclusions. The Warrant Agent shall have no responsibility with respect to the validity of this Agreement or with respect to the validity or execution of any Warrant (except its countersignature thereof). The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible for any breach by the Company of any covenant or condition contained in this Agreement or in any Warrant. The Warrant Agent shall not be responsible to make any adjustments required under the provisions of Section 4 hereof or responsible for the manner, method, or amount of any such adjustment or the ascertaining of the existence of facts that would require any such adjustment; nor shall it by any act hereunder be deemed to make any representation or warranty as to the authorization or reservation of any shares of Common Stock to be issued pursuant to this Agreement or any Warrant or as to whether any shares of Common Stock shall, when issued, be valid and fully paid and non-assessable. |
| 8.5 | Acceptance of Agency. The Warrant Agent hereby accepts the agency established by this Agreement and agrees to perform the same upon the terms and conditions herein set forth and among other things, shall account promptly to the Company with respect to Warrants exercised and concurrently account for, and pay to the Company, all monies received by the Warrant Agent for the purchase of shares of Common Stock through the exercise of the Warrants. |
| 8.6 | Waiver. The Warrant Agent has no right of set-off or any other right, title, interest or claim of any kind (“Claim”) in, or to any distribution of, the Trust Account (as defined in that certain Investment Management Trust Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as trustee thereunder) and hereby agrees not to seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction for any Claim against the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever. The Warrant Agent hereby waives any and all Claims against the Trust Account and any and all rights to seek access to the Trust Account. |
14
| 9. | Miscellaneous Provisions. |
| 9.1 | Successors. All the covenants and provisions of this Agreement by or for the benefit of the Company or the Warrant Agent shall bind and inure to the benefit of their respective successors and assigns. |
| 9.2 | Notices. Any notice, statement or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the Warrant Agent or by the holder of any Warrant to or on the Company shall be sufficiently given when delivered if by hand or overnight delivery or if sent by trackable mail or private courier service when sent, addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Company with the Warrant Agent), as follows: |
KINS Technology Group Inc.
Four Palo Alto Square, Suite 200
3000 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA 94306
Attention: Chief Financial Officer
Any notice, statement or demand authorized by this Agreement to be given or made by the holder of any Warrant or by the Company to or on the Warrant Agent shall be sufficiently given when delivered if by hand or overnight delivery or if sent by trackable mail or private courier service when sent, addressed (until another address is filed in writing by the Warrant Agent with the Company), as follows:
Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company
One State Street, 30th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Attention: Compliance Department
| 9.3 | Applicable Law and Exclusive Forum. The validity, interpretation, and performance of this Agreement and of the Warrants shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, including, without limitation, Sections 5-1401 and 5-1402 of the New York General Obligations Law and New York Civil Practice Laws and Rule 327(b). The Company hereby agrees that any action, proceeding or claim against it arising out of, or otherwise based on, this Agreement, including under the Securities Act, shall 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 irrevocably submits to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. The Company hereby waives any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing the provisions of this paragraph will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in the Warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in this Section 9.3. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions above, is filed in a court other than a court located within 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 warrant holder, such warrant holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located within the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District 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.
| 9.4 | Persons Having Rights under this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement shall be construed to confer upon, or give to, any person, corporation or other entity other than the parties hereto and the Registered Holders of the Warrants any right, remedy, or claim under or by reason of this Agreement or of any covenant, condition, stipulation, promise, or agreement hereof. All covenants, conditions, stipulations, promises, and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the parties hereto and their successors and assigns and of the Registered Holders of the Warrants. |
15
| 9.5 | Examination of the Warrant Agreement. A copy of this Agreement shall be available at all reasonable times at the office of the Warrant Agent in the Borough of Manhattan, City and State of New York, for inspection by the Registered Holder of any Warrant. The Warrant Agent may require any such holder to submit such holder’s Warrant for inspection by it. |
| 9.6 | Counterparts; Electronic Signatures. This Agreement may be executed in any number of original or facsimile counterparts and each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the same instrument. A signature to this Agreement transmitted electronically shall have the same authority, effect, and enforceability as an original signature. |
| 9.7 | Effect of Headings. The section headings herein are for convenience only and are not part of this Agreement and shall not affect the interpretation thereof. |
| 9.8 | Amendments. This Agreement may be amended by the parties hereto without the consent of any Registered Holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or to correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions hereof to the description of the terms of the Warrants and this Agreement set forth in the Prospectus, or defective provision contained herein or (ii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under this Agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem shall not adversely affect the rights of the Registered Holders under this Agreement. All other modifications or amendments, including any modification or amendment to increase the Warrant Price or shorten the Exercise Period, shall require the vote or written consent of the Registered Holders of 50% of the then-outstanding Public Warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the Sponsor Warrants or any provision of this Agreement with respect to the Sponsor Warrants, 50% of the then-outstanding Sponsor Warrants. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may lower the Warrant Price or extend the duration of the Exercise Period pursuant to Sections 3.1 and 3.2, respectively, without the consent of the Registered Holders. |
| 9.9 | Severability. This Agreement shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity or unenforceability of any term or provision hereof shall not affect the validity or enforceability of this Agreement or of any other term or provision hereof. Furthermore, in lieu of any such invalid or unenforceable term or provision, the parties hereto intend that there shall be added as a part of this Agreement a provision as similar in terms to such invalid or unenforceable provision as may be possible and be valid and enforceable. |
Exhibit A Form of Warrant Certificate
Exhibit B Legend — Sponsors Warrants and BlackRock Warrants
16
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed as of the date first above written.
| KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, AS WARRANT AGENT | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature Page to Warrant Agreement]
EXHIBIT A
Form of Warrant Certificate
[FACE]
Number
Warrants
THIS WARRANT SHALL BE NULL AND VOID IF
NOT EXERCISED PRIOR TO
THE EXPIRATION OF THE EXERCISE PERIOD PROVIDED FOR
IN THE WARRANT AGREEMENT DESCRIBED BELOW
KINS Technology Group Inc.
Incorporated Under the Laws of the State of Delaware
CUSIP 49714K 117
Warrant Certificate
This Warrant Certificate certifies that , or registered assigns, is the registered holder of warrant(s) evidenced hereby (the “Warrants” and each, a “Warrant”) to purchase shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), of KINS Technology Group Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”). Each Warrant entitles the holder, upon exercise during the period set forth in the Warrant Agreement referred to below, to receive from the Company that number of fully paid and non-assessable shares of Common Stock as set forth below, at the exercise price (the “Exercise Price”) as determined pursuant to the Warrant Agreement, payable in lawful money (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) of the United States of America upon surrender of this Warrant Certificate and payment of the Exercise Price at the office or agency of the Warrant Agent referred to below, subject to the conditions set forth herein and in the Warrant Agreement. Defined terms used in this Warrant Certificate but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.
Each whole Warrant is initially exercisable for one fully paid and non-assessable share of Common Stock. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of any Warrant. If, upon the exercise of Warrant, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, the Company will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of the number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to the holder. The number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.
The initial Exercise Price per share of Common Stock for any Warrant is equal to $11.50 per whole share. The Exercise Price is subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events as set forth in the Warrant Agreement.
Subject to the conditions set forth in the Warrant Agreement, the Warrants may be exercised only during the Exercise Period and to the extent not exercised by the end of such Exercise Period, such Warrants shall become null and void.
Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Warrant Certificate set forth on the reverse hereof and such further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as though fully set forth at this place.
This Warrant Certificate shall not be valid unless countersigned by the Warrant Agent, as such term is used in the Warrant Agreement.
This Warrant Certificate shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York.
| KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC. | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| CONTINENTAL STOCK TRANSFER & TRUST COMPANY, AS WARRANT AGENT | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Form of Warrant Certificate]
[Reverse]
The Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate are part of a duly authorized issue of Warrants entitling the holder on exercise to receive shares of Common Stock and are issued or to be issued pursuant to a Warrant Agreement dated as of [•], 2020 (the “Warrant Agreement”), duly executed and delivered by the Company to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York corporation, as warrant agent (or successor warrant agent) (collectively, the “Warrant Agent”), which Warrant Agreement is hereby incorporated by reference in and made a part of this instrument and is hereby referred to for a description of the rights, limitation of rights, obligations, duties and immunities thereunder of the Warrant Agent, the Company and the holders (the words “holders” or “holder” meaning the Registered Holders or Registered Holder, respectively) of the Warrants. A copy of the Warrant Agreement may be obtained by the holder hereof upon written request to the Company. Defined terms used in this Warrant Certificate but not defined herein shall have the meanings given to them in the Warrant Agreement.
Warrants may be exercised at any time during the Exercise Period set forth in the Warrant Agreement. The holder of Warrants evidenced by this Warrant Certificate may exercise them by surrendering this Warrant Certificate, with the form of Election to Purchase set forth hereon properly completed and executed, together with payment of the Exercise Price as specified in the Warrant Agreement (or through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement) at the designated office(s) of the Warrant Agent. In the event that upon any exercise of Warrants evidenced hereby the number of Warrants exercised shall be less than the total number of Warrants evidenced hereby, there shall be issued to the holder hereof or his, her or its assignee, a new Warrant Certificate evidencing the number of Warrants not exercised.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Warrant Certificate or the Warrant Agreement, no Warrant may be exercised unless at the time of exercise (i) a registration statement covering the shares of Common Stock to be issued upon exercise is effective under the Securities Act and (ii) a prospectus thereunder relating to the shares of Common Stock is current, except through “cashless exercise” as provided for in the Warrant Agreement.
The Warrant Agreement provides that upon the occurrence of certain events the number of shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of the Warrants set forth on the face hereof may, subject to certain conditions, be adjusted. If, upon exercise of a Warrant, the holder thereof would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share of Common Stock, the Company shall, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of shares of Common Stock to be issued to the holder of the Warrant.
Warrant Certificates, when surrendered at the designated office(s) of the Warrant Agent by the Registered Holder thereof in person or by legal representative or attorney duly authorized in writing, may be exchanged, in the manner and subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, but without payment of any service charge, for another Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants.
Upon due presentation for registration of transfer of this Warrant Certificate at the office(s) of the Warrant Agent a new Warrant Certificate or Warrant Certificates of like tenor and evidencing in the aggregate a like number of Warrants shall be issued to the transferee(s) in exchange for this Warrant Certificate, subject to the limitations provided in the Warrant Agreement, without charge except for any tax or other third-party charges imposed in connection therewith.
The Company and the Warrant Agent may deem and treat the Registered Holder(s) hereof as the absolute owner(s) of this Warrant Certificate (notwithstanding any notation of ownership or other writing hereon made by anyone), for the purpose of any exercise hereof, of any distribution to the holder(s) hereof, and for all other purposes, and neither the Company nor the Warrant Agent shall be affected by any notice to the contrary. Neither the Warrants nor this Warrant Certificate entitles any holder hereof to any rights of a stockholder of the Company.
Election to Purchase
(To Be Executed Upon Exercise of Warrant)
The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, to receive shares of Common Stock and herewith tenders payment for such shares of Common Stock to the order of KINS Technology Group Inc. (the “Company”) in the amount of $ in accordance with the terms hereof. The undersigned requests that a certificate for such shares of Common Stock be registered in the name of , whose address is and that such shares of Common Stock be delivered to whose address is . If said number of shares of Common Stock is less than all of the shares of Common Stock purchasable hereunder, the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such shares of Common Stock be registered in the name of , whose address is , and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to , whose address is .
In the event that the Warrant has been called for redemption by the Company pursuant to Section 6.1 or Section 6.2 of the Warrant Agreement and the Company has required cashless exercise pursuant to Section 6.4 of the Warrant Agreement, the number of shares of Common Stock that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(b) and Section 6.4 of the Warrant Agreement.
In the event that the Warrant is a Sponsor Warrant that is to be exercised on a “cashless” basis pursuant to subsection 3.3.1(c) of the Warrant Agreement, the number of shares of Common Stock that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with subsection 3.3.1(c) of the Warrant Agreement.
In the event that the Warrant is to be exercised on a “cashless” basis pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement, the number of shares of Common Stock that this Warrant is exercisable for shall be determined in accordance with Section 7.4 of the Warrant Agreement.
In the event that the Warrant may be exercised, to the extent allowed by the Warrant Agreement, through cashless exercise (i) the number of shares of Common Stock that this Warrant is exercisable for would be determined in accordance with the relevant section of the Warrant Agreement which allows for such cashless exercise and (ii) the holder hereof shall complete the following: The undersigned hereby irrevocably elects to exercise the right, represented by this Warrant Certificate, through the cashless exercise provisions of the Warrant Agreement, to receive shares of Common Stock. If said number of shares of Common Stock is less than all of the shares of Common Stock purchasable hereunder (after giving effect to the cashless exercise), the undersigned requests that a new Warrant Certificate representing the remaining balance of such shares of Common Stock be registered in the name of , whose address is , and that such Warrant Certificate be delivered to , whose address is .
| Date: , | (Signature) | |
| (Address) | ||
| (Tax Identification Number) | ||
| Signature Guaranteed: | ||
THE SIGNATURE(S) SHOULD BE GUARANTEED BY AN ELIGIBLE GUARANTOR INSTITUTION (BANKS, STOCKBROKERS, SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATIONS AND CREDIT UNIONS WITH MEMBERSHIP IN AN APPROVED SIGNATURE GUARANTEE MEDALLION PROGRAM, PURSUANT TO SEC RULE 17Ad-15 (OR ANY SUCCESSOR RULE) under the SECURITIES exchange act, OF 1934, AS AMENDED).
EXHIBIT B
LEGEND
THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS, AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED, SOLD, TRANSFERRED OR OTHERWISE DISPOSED OF UNLESS REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, AND ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE. IN ADDITION, SUBJECT TO ANY ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFER DESCRIBED IN THE LETTER AGREEMENT BY AND AMONG KINS TECHNOLOGY GROUP INC. (THE “COMPANY”), KINS Capital LLC AND THE OTHER PARTIES THERETO, OR THE SECURITIES SUBSCRIPTION AGREEMENTS BY AND BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND THE BLACKROCK ENTITIES (AS DEFINED IN THE RECITALS OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT REFERRED TO HEREIN), AS APPLICABLE, THE SECURITIES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE MAY NOT BE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED PRIOR TO THE DATE THAT IS THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE UPON WHICH THE COMPANY COMPLETES ITS INITIAL BUSINESS COMBINATION (AS DEFINED IN THE RECITALS OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT REFERRED TO HEREIN) EXCEPT TO A PERMITTED TRANSFEREE (AS DEFINED IN SECTION 2 OF THE WARRANT AGREEMENT) WHO AGREES IN WRITING WITH THE COMPANY TO BE SUBJECT TO SUCH TRANSFER PROVISIONS.
SECURITIES EVIDENCED BY THIS CERTIFICATE AND SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF THE COMPANY ISSUED UPON EXERCISE OF SUCH SECURITIES SHALL BE ENTITLED TO REGISTRATION RIGHTS UNDER A REGISTRATION RIGHTS AGREEMENT TO BE EXECUTED BY THE COMPANY.