EON Resources Inc 10-K for FY2022
EON Resources Inc. (EONR)
About this 10-K
EON Resources Inc filed this 10-K on March 31, 2023, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 (FY2022).
Headline figures
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, as reported in this filing, compared with the same period a year earlier where the filing states it.
- Net loss
- $750.35K
- compared with a net loss of $13.78K a year earlier
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
For the transition period from to
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (Commission File Number) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including
area code:
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class: | Trading Symbol: | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
| Warrants, each whole warrant exercisable for three quarters of one share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per whole share | HNRAW | NYSE American LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a
well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not
required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
(1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding
12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing
requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ |
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||
| Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check
mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting
standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial
reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared
or issued its audit report.
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that require a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
The Registrant’s Units began trading on the NYSE American on February 11, 2022 (separate trading of the Registrant’s common stock and warrants underlying such Units commenced trading separately on the NYSE American on April 4, 2022, and the Units ceased trading on April 4, 2022). As of June 30, 2021, the last business day of the Registrant’ most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the Registrant’s common stock was not publicly traded. Accordingly, there was no market value for the Registrant’s common stock on such date.
As of March 27, 2023,
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
CERTAIN TERMS
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Form 10-K (this “Report”), or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| ● | “common stock” is to our common stock; |
| ● | “founder shares” are to shares of our common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our Initial Public Offering; |
| ● | “Initial Public Offering” refers to the Initial Public Offering closed on February 15, 2022. |
| ● | “initial stockholders” are to our holders of our founder shares prior to our Initial Public Offering (or their permitted transferees); |
| ● | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors; |
| ● | “private placement units” are to the units issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering; |
| ● | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants sold as part of the private placement units. |
| ● | “public shares” are to shares of our common stock sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering (whether they were purchased in our Initial Public Offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| ● | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team 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 our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering (whether they were purchased in our Initial Public Offering or thereafter in the open market), and to any private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not our sponsor or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination; |
| ● | “Sponsor” refers to HNRAC Sponsors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
| ● | “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement units or their permitted transferees; |
| ● | “HNR,” “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to HNR Acquisition Corp. |
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some statements contained in this Report may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of United States 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,” “intends,” “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 report may include, for example, statements about:
| ● | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ● | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| ● | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ● | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements; |
| ● | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ● | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ● | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| ● | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ● | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| ● | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account 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 our Initial Public Offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “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. These risks and others described under “Risk Factors” may not be exhaustive.
By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. We caution you that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate may differ materially from those made in or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this Amendment. In addition, even if our results or operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this Report, those results or developments may not be indicative of results or developments in subsequent periods.
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PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Overview of Initial Public Offering
We are a blank check company incorporated on December 9, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and 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 registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering was declared effective on February 10, 2022 (the “Effective Date”). On February 15, 2022, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 7,500,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the common stock included in the Units sold, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating proceeds of $75,000,000. Additionally, the underwriter fully exercised its option to purchase 1,125,000 additional Units, for which we received cash proceeds of $11,250,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 505,000 units (the “Private Placement Units”) at a price of $10.00 per unit generating proceeds of $5,050,000 in a private placement to HNRAC Sponsors, LLC, our sponsor (the “Sponsor”) and EF Hutton (formerly Kingswood Capital Markets) (“EF Hutton”). Our management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement Units, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be generally applied toward consummating the Purchase. On April 4, 2022, the Units separated into common stock and warrants, and ceased trading. On April 4, 2022, the common stock and warrants commenced trading on the NYSE American.
Transaction costs amounted to $4,793,698 comprised of $1,725,000 of underwriting discount, $2,587,500 of deferred underwriting fee, and $481,198 of other offering costs. In addition, $1,368,050 of cash from the Initial Public Offering was held outside of the trust account and is available for working capital purposes.
White Lion Common Stock Purchase Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement
On October 17, 2022, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and a related registration rights agreement (the “White Lion RRA”) with White Lion Capital, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (“White Lion”). Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company has the right, but not the obligation to require White Lion to purchase, from time to time, up to $150,000,000 in aggregate gross purchase price of newly issued shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, subject to certain limitations and conditions set forth in the Common Stock Purchase Agreement. Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meaning given to such terms by the Common Stock Purchase Agreement.
Subject to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions including, without limitation, the effectiveness of a registration statement registering the shares issuable pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company’s right to sell shares to White Lion will commence on the effective date of the registration statement and extend until December 31, 2025. During such term, subject to the terms and conditions of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company may notify White Lion when the Company exercises its right to sell shares (the effective date of such notice, a “Notice Date”). The number of shares sold pursuant to any such notice may not exceed (i) the lower of (a) $2,000,000 and (b) the dollar amount equal to the product of (1) the Effective Daily Trading Volume (2) the closing price of Common Stock on the Effective Date (3) 400% and (4) 30%, divided by the closing price of common stock on NYSE American preceding the Notice Date and (ii) a number of shares of common stock equal to the Average Daily Trading Volume multiplied by the Percentage Limit.
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The purchase price to be paid by White Lion for any such shares will equal 96% of the lowest daily volume-weighted average price of common stock during a period of two consecutive trading days following the applicable Notice Date.
The Company will have the right to terminate the Common Stock Purchase Agreement at any time after Commencement, at no cost or penalty, upon three trading days’ prior written notice. Additionally, White Lion will have the right to terminate the Common Stock Purchase Agreement upon three days’ prior written notice to the Company if (i) there is a Fundamental Transaction, (ii) the Company is in breach or default in any material respect of the White Lion RRA, (iii) there is a lapse of the effectiveness, or unavailability of, the Registration Statement for a period of 45 consecutive trading days or for more than an aggregate of 90 trading days in any 365-day period, (iv) the suspension of trading of the common stock for a period of five consecutive trading days, (v) the material breach of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement by the Company, which breach is not cured within the applicable cure period or (vi) a Material Adverse Effect has occurred and is continuing. No termination of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement will affect the registration rights provisions contained in the White Lion RRA.
In consideration for the commitments of White Lion, as described above, the Company has agreed that it will issue to White Lion shares of Common Stock having a value of $1,500,000 based on the volume-weighted average price of the common stock on a date which is the earlier to occur of (i) two Trading Days prior to the filing of the registration statement it will file pursuant to the White Lion RRA and (ii) after the closing of any business combination agreement, the Trading Day prior to the Investor sending a written request to the Company for such commitment shares, and to include such shares in the registration statement it will file pursuant to the White Lion RRA.
Registration Rights Agreement (White Lion)
Concurrently with the execution of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company entered into the White Lion RRA with the White Lion in which the Company has agreed to register the shares of common stock purchased by White Lion with the SEC for resale within 30 days of the consummation of a business combination. The White Lion RRA also contains usual and customary damages provisions for failure to file and failure to have the registration statement declared effective by the SEC within the time periods specified.
The Common Stock Purchase Agreement and the White Lion RRA contain customary representations, warranties, conditions and indemnification obligations of the parties. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements were made only for purposes of such agreements and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreements and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties.
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Membership Interest Purchase Agreement and Related Agreements
On December 27, 2022, the “Company entered into a membership interest purchase agreement (the “MIPA”) with CIC Pogo LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“CIC”), DenCo Resources, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“DenCo”), Pogo Resources Management, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Pogo Management”), 4400 Holdings, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“4400” and, together with CIC, DenCo and Pogo Management, collectively, “Seller” and each a “Seller”), and, solely with respect to Section 7.20 of the MIPA, the Sponsor.
Pursuant to the MIPA, and subject to the terms, provisions, and conditions set forth therein, at the closing of the transactions contemplated by the MIPA (the “Closing”), Seller will sell, assign, and convey to the Company, and the Company will purchase and accept from Seller, effective as of the Effective Time, one hundred percent (100%) of the outstanding membership interests (the “Target Interests”) of Pogo Resources, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Pogo” or the “Target”). As used herein, the “Effective Time” means 12:01 a.m. on the first day of the calendar month that is four (4) months prior to the calendar month of the Closing Date.
The purchase price (the “Base Purchase Price”) for the Target Interests will be (a) cash in the amount of $100,000,000 in immediately available funds (the “Cash Consideration”); provided, that up to $15,000,000 of the Cash Consideration may be payable through a promissory note to Seller (the “Seller Promissory Note”) and (b) 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001, valued at $10.00 per share (the “Share Consideration”); provided, that, at Closing, 500,000 shares of Share Consideration (the “Escrowed Share Consideration”) will be placed in escrow for the benefit of the Company. The Base Purchase Price is subject to adjustment in accordance with the MIPA.
Conditions to Closing
The obligation of Seller to consummate the transactions contemplated by the MIPA are subject, at the option of Seller, to the satisfaction on or prior to Closing of certain conditions, including: (i) the accuracy of certain representations and warranties of the Company, except for such breaches, if any, as would not have a material adverse effect; (ii) the performance and observance of all covenants and agreements to be performed or performed by the Company, except for such covenants and agreements for which the nonperformance or nonobservance does not or would not be reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect; (iii) no proceeding by a third party (including any governmental body) seeking to restrain, enjoin, or otherwise prohibit the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the MIPA will be pending before any governmental body or have resulted in an injunction, order, or award that grants such relief; (iv) execution and delivery of certain agreements, including the registration rights agreement and the board observer agreement, by the Company; (v) the aggregate amount of all valid title defects asserted by the Company do not exceed an amount equal to 20% of the Base Purchase Price; (vi) the Company will be ready, willing, and able to pay the Cash Consideration to Seller (with at least $85,000,000 payable in cash and no more than $15,000,000 subject to payment through the terms of the Seller Promissory Note) and issue the Share Consideration to Seller; (vii) the Share Consideration will have been approved for listing on the NYSE American, Nasdaq or another nationally recognized securities exchange listing mutually agreed by the Parties, subject only to official notice of issuance thereof; (viii) any waiting period applicable to the transactions contemplated by the MIPA under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “HSR Act”) will have been terminated or have expired; and (ix) the transactions contemplated by the MIPA will have been approved by the Company’s stockholders at a special meeting.
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The obligations of the Company to consummate the transactions contemplated by the MIPA are subject, at the option of the Company, to the satisfaction on or prior to Closing of certain conditions, including: (i) the accuracy of certain representations and warranties of Seller, except for such breaches, if any, as would not have a material adverse effect; (ii) the performance and observance of all covenants and agreements to be performed or performed by Seller in all material aspects; (iii) no proceeding by a third party (including any governmental body) seeking to restrain, enjoin, or otherwise prohibit the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the MIPA will be pending before any governmental body or have resulted in an injunction, order, or award that grants such relief, with certain exceptions; (iv) execution and delivery of certain transaction documents and financial statements by Seller; (v) any waiting period applicable to the transactions contemplated by the MIPA under the HSR Act will have been terminated or shall have expired; (vi) the transactions contemplated by the MIPA will have been approved by the Company’s stockholders at a special meeting; (vii) the Minimum Cash Amount plus the principal amount of the Seller Promissory Note will equal a total amount of $100,000,000; (viii) the Company will not have redeemed shares of the Company’s common stock in an amount that would cause the Company to have less than $5,000,001 of net tangible assets; (ix) No material adverse effect will have occurred between the date of the MIPA and the date of closing (the “Closing Date”) with respect to the Target; (x) the aggregate amount of all valid title defects will not exceed an amount equal to 20% of the Base Purchase Price; and (xi) the Company’s common stock will have listed, and will have been approved for continued listing, on the NYSE American, Nasdaq or another nationally recognized securities exchange mutually agreed by the Parties.
Representations, Warranties and Covenants
The MIPA contains customary representations, warranties and covenants of the Company, Target and Seller.
Termination
The MIPA may be terminated (i) at any time prior to Closing by the mutual prior written consent of Seller and the Company; (ii) by Seller or the Company if Closing has not occurred on or before March 31, 2023 (the “Outside Date”); (iii) by the Company, if all conditions to Seller’s obligation to proceed with Closing have been satisfied or waived by the Company but Seller has refused to close; (iv) by Seller or the Company if, after the final adjournment of the special meeting of the Company’s stockholders at which a vote of the Company’s stockholders has been taken in accordance with the MIPA, the Company’s stockholder approval has not been obtained; (v) by Seller, if (1) the Closing has not occurred on or before February 14, 2023 and Sponsor has not effected the extension of time allowed for the SPAC (the “SPAC Extension”) to consummate a purchase (on February 8, 2023, the Company effected a SPAC Extension of 3 months until May 15, 2023); (2) the Company has not obtained aggregate binding commitments of at least $60,000,000.00 in the form of debt, equity or other additional sources of capital from reputable lenders or financing providers, and in a form reasonably satisfactory to Seller and presented copies of such commitments to Seller on or before December 31, 2022; or (3) the Company delivers a notice with respect to the determination that the minimum cash amount will not be satisfied; (vi) by either party if a breach of any representation or warranty or failure to perform any covenant or agreement on the part of the other party set forth in the MIPA will have occurred that would cause any of the conditions to closing to not to be satisfied, and is incapable of being cured by the Outside Date or, if curable, is not cured by the breaching party within thirty (30) days of receipt by the breaching party of written notice of such breach or failure (or, if the Outside Date is less than thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of such notice, by the Outside Date); or (vii) by Seller, if all conditions to the Company’s obligation to proceed with Closing have been satisfied or waived by Seller (other than those conditions that, by their nature, are to be satisfied at Closing) but the Company has refused to close.
If the MIPA is validly terminated, the transactions contemplated therein will become void and of no further force or effect without any further action of or liability to indemnitees (absent fraud, or any willful and material breach of the MIPA by a party hereto), and following such termination, Seller will be free immediately to enjoy all rights of ownership of the Target Interests and to sell, transfer, encumber, or otherwise dispose of the Target Interests to any Person without any restriction under this Agreement.
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SPAC Stockholder Support Agreement
Concurrently with the execution of the MIPA, the Company entered into a SPAC Stockholder Support Agreement with certain of the holders of the Company’s common stock and warrants (each, a “SPAC Stockholder”), pursuant to which, among other things, and for no consideration payable to any SPAC Stockholder, (i) each SPAC Stockholder agrees not to, exercise redemption rights or otherwise elect to redeem, tender or submit for redemption any securities pursuant to or in connection with the transactions contemplated by the MIPA, and waives any redemption rights; (ii) agrees unconditionally and irrevocably to vote in favor of the transactions contemplated by the MIPA at a special meeting of the Company’s stockholders and in favor of any other proposals set forth in the proxy statement filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) relating to the transactions contemplated by the MIPA, and against any transaction, proposal, agreement or action made in competition or inconsistent with the transactions or matters contemplated by the MIPA.
Seller Promissory Note
To the extent the minimum cash amount is less than $100,000,000, the Seller may issue a Promissory Note to, and payable by the Company, in an amount equal to the lesser of (i) the difference between $100,000,000 and the minimum cash amount and (ii) $15,000,000, providing for a maturity date that will be six (6) months from the Closing Date, bearing an interest rate equal to the greater of 12% per annum and the highest interest rate applicable to the Company financing, and with no penalty for prepayment; provided, that if the Seller Promissory Note is not repaid in full on or prior to its stated maturity date, the Company will owe interest equal to the lesser of 18% per annum and the highest amount permissible under law, compounded monthly.
Until the obligations under the Seller Promissory Note are repaid in full, the Company (1) shall conduct the business of Pogo and its Subsidiaries in the ordinary course, consistent with past practice during the nine (9) months prior to the closing the transactions contemplated by the MIPA; (2) will not (i) transfer, sell, hypothecate, encumber, dispose of any material assets of Target or its subsidiaries unless, following such transfer or sale of assets the proceeds received by the Company or Target are used to repay 100% of the obligations owed under the Seller Promissory Note or (ii) acquire any material assets outside of the ordinary course of business; (3) use any proceeds the Company, Target or any of their respective subsidiaries raised in connection with the issuance of any equity or debt securities to repay (whether full or in part) the accrued and outstanding obligations under the Seller Promissory Note.
Registration Rights Agreement
At Closing, the Company and the Seller will enter into a Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company has agreed to provide Seller with certain registration rights with respect to the Share Consideration, as defined in the MIPA, including filing with the SEC an initial Registration Statement on Form S-1 covering the resale by the Seller of the Share Consideration so as to permit their resale under Rule 415 under the Securities Act, no later than thirty (30) days following the Closing, use its commercially reasonable efforts to have the initial Registration Statement declared effective by the SEC as soon as reasonably practicable following the filing thereof with the SEC and use commercially reasonable efforts to convert the Form S-1 (and any subsequent Registration Statement) to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 as promptly as practicable after the Company is eligible to use a Form S-3 Shelf.
In certain circumstances, the Seller can demand the Company’s assistance with underwritten offerings, and the Seller will be entitled to certain piggyback registration rights.
Extension
On February 5, 2023, the Company received a notice from Sponsor, informing the Company of its intention to extend the period of time the Company will have to consummate its initial business combination by 3 months from February 15, 2023 to May 15, 2023.
On February 8, 2023, in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the Company effected the extension after the Sponsor’s designee timely deposited $862,500 into the Company’s trust account in connection with the extension. The extension was the first of up to two three-month extensions permitted under the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
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Our Management Team
We will seek to capitalize on the extensive experience of each of the members of our management team who have more than 40 years average experience in the energy industry. Mr. Donald H. Goree, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer has over 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry involving exploration and production, oil and gas pipeline construction and operations, natural gas gathering, processing and gas liquification. Mr. Goree was the Founder and President of Goree Petroleum Inc., a corporation engaged in oil and gas exploration and production in premiere basins throughout the United States for 35 years. Currently, Mr. Goree is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Houston Natural Resources, Inc., a global natural resource corporation located in Houston, Texas and the controlling member of our sponsor. Mr. Goree also previously served as Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Global Xchange Solutions AG., a publicly reporting corporation, private equity, investment bank and market-making firm, based in Zurich, Switzerland, with offices in Frankfurt, Germany and London, United Kingdom. Global Xchange Solutions sponsored listings of private companies to the London Stock Exchange, AIM, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Berlin Stock Exchange and the Börse Stuttgart, and provided public company development and market development advice. Mr. Goree also previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Azur Holdings, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, OTC-listed luxury real estate developer of mid-rise waterfront condominiums. Mr. Donald W. Orr, our President, is a degreed geologist with over 42 years of experience in petroleum geology and production operations. Mr. Orr began his career as a junior geologist with Texas Oil and Gas Corporation in 1976, and was elevated within two years to a supervisory role overseeing over five geologists on his team, most of whom had more experience than Mr. Orr. In 1979, Mr. Orr helped form American Shoreline, Inc., an independent oil and gas company. Mr. Orr formerly held a position with Seven Energy LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Weatherford International plc in 2005, where he pioneered numerous innovations in underbalanced drilling, or UBD, including drilling with unconventional materials and devising the methodology for unlocking the productive capacity of the Buda Lime through the use of UBD. In June 2009, Mr. Orr founded XNP Resources, LLC, an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources. Shortly thereafter, XNP Resources teamed up with Tahoe Energy Partners, LLC to acquire oil and gas leases for drilling in the Rocky Mountain region. At Mr. Orr’s direction, XNP Resources began acquiring a strategic leasehold position in the Sand Wash Basin in Colorado. XNP Resources was able to secure a major leasehold position in the heart of what has become the highly competitive Niobrara Shale formation in western Colorado. Since 2014, Mr. Orr has been developing an unconventional resource play in Alaska that contains over 600 billion cubic feet of gas in stacked coal reservoirs. More recently, Mr. Orr assembled a team of oil and gas professionals in order to study certain oil provinces in Columbia. South America.
The past performance of the members of our management team is not a guarantee that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination or of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team as indicative of our future performance. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful. None of our officers and directors has experience with SPACs.
Business Strategy
Our acquisition and value creation strategy will be to identify, acquire and, after our initial business combination, build a company in the energy industry in North America that complements the experience of our management team and can benefit from their operational expertise and/or executive oversight. Our acquisition strategy will leverage our management team’s network of potential proprietary and public transaction sources where we believe a combination of our relationships, knowledge and experience in the energy industry could effect a positive transformation or augmentation of existing businesses or properties to improve their overall value proposition.
We plan to utilize the network and industry experience of our management team and business partners in seeking an initial business combination and employing our acquisition strategy. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team and their affiliates have developed a broad network of contacts and industry relationships that we believe will serve as a useful source of acquisition opportunities. This network has been developed through our management team’s extensive experience in both investing and operating in the energy industry. In addition to our industry and lending community relationships, we plan to leverage relationships with management teams of public and private companies, capital market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, restructuring advisers, attorneys and accounting firms, which we believe should provide us with a number of business combination opportunities. The members of our management team will communicate with their networks of relationships to articulate the parameters for our search for a target business and a potential business combination and begin the process of pursuing and reviewing opportunities with value creation potential.
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The primary strategies our management team will use to identify a potential business combination to generate favorable returns include seeking to:
| ● | Acquire and operate quality, producing assets, with high working interests, in a well-known basin with a large oil and gas reserve base and production, proved reserve and cash flow upside at an attractive valuation. |
| ● | Provide development capital and expertise to partner with companies with high quality assets, established infrastructure and core acreage positions at attractive economics. |
| ● | Leverage proved developed reserves while targeting multiple productive pay zones to increase upside potential. |
| ● | Target producing assets with significant opportunities for cost improvements and application of new technology. |
Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with this strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. We will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, but we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines. We intend to acquire companies that we believe:
| ● | are well positioned to benefit from increased levels of production from key domestic basins; |
| ● | have significant proved developed producing reserves in a well-known basin with proven development opportunities; |
| ● | have significant proved un-developed reserves in a well-known basin with proven development opportunities; |
| ● | have the ability to generate significant current free cash flow; |
| ● | have potential to generate significant growth in shareholder value following our initial business combination; |
| ● | are at an inflection point, such as requiring additional management expertise, are able to innovate through new operational techniques and technology, or where we believe we can drive improved financial performance; |
| ● | have developed leading positions within the energy industry, based on our evaluation of several factors, including growth profile, competitive environment, profitability profile and sustainability of business plan; |
| ● | can utilize the extensive networks, operational experience and insights our management team has built in the energy industry; |
| ● | are fundamentally sound but we believe can achieve better results by leveraging the operating and financial experience of our management team and their affiliates; |
| ● | exhibit unrecognized value or other characteristics, desirable returns on capital, and a need for capital to achieve the company’s growth strategy, that we believe have been misevaluated by the marketplace based on our analysis and due diligence review; and |
| ● | can offer attractive risk-adjusted returns on investments for our stockholders. |
We will seek to acquire the target on terms and in a manner that leverage our management team’s experience investing within the energy industry. Potential upside from growth in the target business and an improved capital structure will be weighed against any identified downside risks.
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with Pogo and decide to enter into our initial business combination with another target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Report, would be in the form of tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials filed with the SEC.
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Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will 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. In conducting our due diligence review, we intend to leverage the experience of members of our management team on an efficient and cost effective basis as we deploy them to review matters related to their specific areas of functional expertise.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, or any of our officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, or any of our officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from either an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We will also provide a summary of any such opinion or report to shareholders in connection with any vote on an initial business combination in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination in accordance with Section 1015(b) of Regulation S-K. Additionally, pursuant to the NYSE American rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
Members of our management team directly or indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement units 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 target if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. 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. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our Certificate of Incorporation provides 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 executive officers are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs, and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combination targets and monitoring the related due diligence.
Initial Business Combination
So long as we maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE American, our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value). Although our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of the fair market value of the target business, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we 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 our company from a financial point of view. We will also provide a summary of any such opinion or report to shareholders in connection with any vote on an initial business combination in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination in accordance with Section 1015(b) of Regulation S-K. Additionally, pursuant to the NYSE American rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
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We currently anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or 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 sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the 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. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our 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 equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.
Sourcing of Potential Business Combination Targets
We believe our management team’s significant operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, such individuals have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships around the world. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring, financing and selling businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of such individuals in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.
In addition, members of our management team have developed contacts from serving on the boards of directors of several companies in diverse sectors, as described more fully in “Management.”
This network is expected to provide us with a robust and consistent flow of acquisition opportunities which we expect to be proprietary or where a limited group of investors will be invited to participate in the sale process. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity funds and large business enterprises seeking to divest non-core assets or divisions.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinion that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We will also provide a summary of any such opinion or report to shareholders in connection with any vote on an initial business combination in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination in accordance with Section 1015(b) of Regulation S-K. Additionally, pursuant to the NYSE American rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which such officer or director has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, such officer or director may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations to several entities that may present a conflict of interest. As a result of these duties and obligations, situations may arise in which business opportunities may be given to one or more of these other entities prior to being presented to us.
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Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a 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 underwriter’s ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with 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.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, without an operating history, and the uncertainty relating to our ability to obtain stockholder approval of our proposed initial business combination and retain sufficient funds in our trust account in connection therewith, negatively.
Emerging Growth Company
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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. Accordingly, the information we provide to you may be different than you might get from other public companies in which you hold securities.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our Initial Public Offering, or December 31, 2027, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of $87,975,000, assuming no redemptions, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our 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.
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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. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the private placement of the private placement units, the sale and issuance of equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our business combination or used for redemptions of purchases of our 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 companies or for working capital.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate 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 law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately 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.
Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination
The NYSE American rules require that our initial business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriters fees and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. So long as we maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE American, we will be required to comply with such rule. 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. Although our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents used by us in connection with any proposed transaction will provide public stockholders with our analysis of the fair market value of the target business, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board 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 opinion that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We will also provide a summary of any such opinion or report to shareholders in connection with any vote on an initial business combination in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination in accordance with Section 1015(b) of Regulation S-K. Additionally, pursuant to the NYSE American rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we are be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
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In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% fair market value test. There is no basis for investors in our Initial Public Offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may ultimately complete our business combination.
To the extent we effect our business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review which will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial, operational, legal and other information which will be made available to us.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of business diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business.
Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our 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 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 business combination, it is unlikely that 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.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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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 law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal 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 under Delaware Law | |
| 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 the NYSE American’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ● | we issue shares of common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our common stock then outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| ● | any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by the NYSE American rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or |
| ● | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
Permitted purchases of our securities
In the event we seek stockholder approval of our business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their 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. However, we are not aware of any current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. They will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such 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: (i) refrain from purchasing shares during certain blackout periods and when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) to clear all trades with our legal counsel prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
In the event that our sponsor, 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. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
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The purpose of such purchases would be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of our business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and all other applicable federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) of, and Rule 10b-5 under, 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 their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) of, or Rule 10b-5 under, the Exchange Act.
Ability to Extend Time to Complete Business Combination
On February 5, 2023, the Company received a notice from Sponsor, informing the Company of its intention to extend the period of time the Company will have to consummate its initial business combination by 3 months from February 15, 2023 to May 15, 2023.
On February 8, 2023, in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the Company effected the extension after the Sponsor’s designee timely deposited $862,500 into the Company’s trust account in connection with the extension. The extension was the first of up to two three-month extensions permitted under the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation.
Currently, we will have until 15 months from February 15, 2022 (i.e., May 15, 2023) to consummate our initial business combination. However, if we anticipate that we may not be able to consummate our initial business combination within 15 months, we may, by resolution of our board if requested by our sponsor, extend the period of time to consummate a business combination by an additional three months (for a total of up to 18 months to complete a business combination), subject to the sponsor depositing additional funds into the trust account as set out below. Pursuant to the terms of the trust agreement entered into between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, in order to extend the time available for us to consummate our initial business combination, our initial shareholders or their affiliates or designees, upon five days advance notice prior to the applicable deadline, must deposit into the trust account for each three-month extension, $862,500 on or prior to the date of the applicable deadline, up to an aggregate of $1,725,000, or approximately $0.20 per share. Any such payments would be made in the form of a loan. Any such loans will be non-interest bearing and payable upon the consummation of our initial business combination. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement warrants of the post business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant at the option of the lender. Furthermore, the letter agreement with our initial stockholders contains a provision pursuant to which our sponsor has agreed to waive its right to be repaid for such loans out of the funds held in the trust account in the event that we do not complete a business combination. In the event that we receive notice from our sponsor five days prior to the applicable deadline of its wish for us to effect an extension, we intend to issue a press release announcing such intention at least three days prior to the applicable deadline. In addition, we intend to issue a press release the day after the applicable deadline announcing whether or not the funds had been timely deposited. Our sponsor and its affiliates or designees are not obligated to fund the trust account to extend the time for us to complete our initial business combination. If we choose to extend the period of time to consummate a business combination as set forth herein, you will not have the ability to vote or redeem your shares in connection with either of the three-month extensions. However, if we seek to complete a business combination during an extension period, investors will still be able to vote and redeem their shares in connection with that business combination.
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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 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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is anticipated to be $10.30 per public share (plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations).
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of 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. 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 require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under the NYSE American rules, 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 require stockholder approval. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE American, we would be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal 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 business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| ● | 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. |
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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 will count toward this quorum and has agreed to vote all shares of our common stock having voting rights that it then owns in favor of our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our sponsor, 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. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees each has entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which each has agreed to waive its redemption rights with respect to all shares of our common stock then owned by it in connection with the completion of a business combination.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Redemptions of our public shares may also be subject to a higher net tangible asset test or cash requirement pursuant to an agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of 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 common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
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 business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares. 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, our sponsor 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 an aggregate of 10% or more of the shares sold in our Initial Public Offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem to less than 10% of the shares sold in our Initial Public Offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our 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 Excess Shares) for or against our business combination.
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 either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
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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 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass the cost on to the redeeming holder. However, the fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the 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.
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 the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. 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 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.
Redemption of public shares and liquidation if no initial business combination
We will have only 15 months (or only 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our business combination within such 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, which interest shall be net of taxes payable) 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 liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, 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 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 time period.
Our sponsor and its permitted transferees each has entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which each has waived its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares and, solely with respect to the sponsor, the private placement shares, if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022. However, if our sponsor acquires public shares after our Initial Public Offering, it 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.
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Our executive officers, directors, sponsor and sponsor’s permitted transferees have agreed, pursuant to written letter agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock 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 may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
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 $800,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.32 as of December 31, 2022. 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 $10.32. 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 creditors, 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, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a creditor or a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) 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 which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, except as 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 underwriter of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, and our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. We believe the likelihood of our sponsor having to indemnify the trust account is limited because we will endeavor to have all creditors, vendors and prospective target businesses as well as other entities execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) 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 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 in any particular instance. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be substantially less than $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share.
We have access to approximately $800,000 from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) exceed our estimate of $800,000, 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 (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) are less than our estimate of $800,000, 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 business combination within the prescribed time frame may be considered a liquidation 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, 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 business combination within prescribed time is not considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), 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 liquidation distribution. If we are unable to complete our business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if further we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022, 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 (net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and 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 liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, 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 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 our 12th month (or within the 18th month if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) 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.
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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 and investment bankers) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all creditors, 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.
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) $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) 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, and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriter of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
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 $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if 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 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, and 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 upon the earlier to occur of (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) our redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022. In no other circumstances will a public 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 described above.
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains certain requirements and restrictions relating to our Initial Public Offering that will apply to us until the consummation of our initial business combination. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
| ● | prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we shall either (i) seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination at a meeting called for such purpose at which stockholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the proposed business combination, into their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) or (ii) provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to tender their shares to us by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) in each case subject to the limitations described herein; |
| ● | we will consummate our initial business combination only if we have net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation and, solely if we seek stockholder approval, a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination; |
| ● | if our initial business combination is not consummated within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022, then our existence will terminate and we will distribute all amounts in the trust account; and |
| ● | prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. |
In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we may consummate our initial business combination only if approved by a majority of the shares of common stock voted by our stockholders at a duly held stockholders meeting.
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Comparison of redemption or purchase prices in connection with our initial business combination and if we fail to complete our business combination.
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022.
| 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 public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.30 per 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 upon the consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including but not limited to cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the negotiation of terms of a proposed business combination. | If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. Such purchases will only be made to the 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. | If we are unable to complete our business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022, 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 $10.30 per share), including interest (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses, which interest shall be net of taxes payable) 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 taxes (to the extent not paid from amounts accrued as interest on the funds held in the trust account) and the deferred underwriting commissions. | 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 business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our sponsor, who will be our only remaining stockholders after such redemptions. |
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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 us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public 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
We currently maintain our executive offices at 3730 Kirby Drive, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas 77098. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per month fee that we will pay to our sponsor for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services. We believe that the amount we will pay under the administrative services agreement is comparable to the cost of similar services that we could obtain from unaffiliated persons. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have two executive officers. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We registered our units, 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 auditors. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the website is www.sec.gov.
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 U.S. GAAP. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. 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 acquisition 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, 2023 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company 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.
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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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. Accordingly, the information we provide to you may be different than you might get from other public companies in which you hold securities.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the closing of our Initial Public Offering, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. 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.
Summary of Risk Factors
| ● | we are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenues; |
| ● | our ability to continue as a “going concern”; |
| ● | we may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame; |
| ● | you will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances; |
| ● | negative interest rate for securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account; |
| ● | our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us; |
| ● | 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 $10.30 per share (or, if both three-month extensions occur, less than $10.40 per share); |
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| ● | subsequent to completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges; |
| ● | dependence on key personnel; |
| ● | conflicts of interest of our sponsor, officers and directors; |
| ● | past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of your investment in us; |
| ● | we may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business; |
| ● | our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination; |
| ● | the absence of a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree; |
| ● | we may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after our consummation of a business combination; |
| ● | we may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you; |
| ● | our competitors have advantages over us in seeking business combinations; |
| ● | we may be unable to obtain additional financing; |
| ● | our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock; |
| ● | we may issue additional equity and/or debt securities to complete our initial business; |
| ● | our sponsor controls a substantial interest in us; |
| ● | you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our common stock; |
| ● | if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, who controls a substantial interest in us, has agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote; |
| ● | if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our common stock; |
| ● | ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure, and will increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful; |
| ● | lack of protections normally afforded to investors of blank check companies; |
| ● | deviation from acquisition criteria; |
| ● | possibility of losing the ability to redeem all shares equal to or in excess of 10% of our common stock if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules; |
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| ● | the NYSE American may delist our securities from trading on its exchange; |
| ● | we will likely only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services; |
| ● | in our Initial Public Offering, we did not register the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants sold as part of the units, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise such warrants; |
| ● | shares being redeemed and warrants becoming worthless; |
| ● | lack of working capital; |
| ● | events which may result in the per-share amount held in our trust account dropping below $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per public share; |
| ● | our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor; |
| ● | 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; |
| ● | registration rights 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 common stock; |
| ● | because we are not limited to a particular industry or 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; |
| ● | we may seek acquisition opportunities in companies that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise; because we intend to seek a business combination with a target business or businesses in the energy industry, we expect our future operations to be subject to risks associated with that industry; |
| ● | 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; |
| ● | We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. We may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations. |
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| ● | if we effect 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; and |
| ● | 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. |
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of December 31, 2022, we had $75,612 in cash and a working capital deficit (excluding deferred offering costs) of $788,689. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our finance and acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital through our Initial Public Offering are discussed in the section of this report titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We cannot assure you that our plans to raise additional capital or to consummate an initial business combination will be successful. Additionally, in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within one year of closing date of the Initial Public Offering, the Company is required to redeem the public shares sold in the Initial Public Offering. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this report do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on a 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 state law or the rules of the NYSE American or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons. For instance, the NYSE American rules currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a stockholder meeting but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our outstanding shares, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. However, except as required by 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. Accordingly, we may consummate our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we consummate. Please see the section 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 initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial stockholder, including our sponsor, have agreed to vote all shares of our common stock having voting rights that it then owns in favor of our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders own 22.48% of our outstanding shares of common stock. As a result, in addition to the founder shares, we could need as little as 3,315,538, or approximately 28.51%, of the 8,625,000 public shares sold in our Initial Public Offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. Furthermore, assuming only the minimum number of stockholders required to be present at the stockholders’ meeting held to approve our initial business combination are present at such meeting, we could need as little as 407,726 of the 8,625,000 public shares, or approximately 7.01% of the shares sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering, to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have such transaction approved. In addition, in the event that our board of directors amends our bylaws to reduce the number of shares required to be present at a meeting of our stockholders, we would need even fewer public shares to be voted in favor of our initial business combination to have such transaction approved.
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 agreed to vote its shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
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Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you may not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. 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 within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a 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, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public 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 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 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 are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure, or may incentivize us to structure a transaction whereby we issue shares to new investors and not to sellers of target businesses, such that our sponsor will receive additional shares.
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 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 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.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our 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 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
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.
We must complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time 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 (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, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, 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 each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their 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, 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 sponsor, directors, executive 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. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. This may result in the completion of a business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to maintain or obtain 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 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 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. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed. See “Proposed Business — Business Strategy — Tendering stock certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights.”
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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 earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) our redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
The NYSE American 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 listed our common stock and warrants on the NYSE American. We have been approved to have our common stock and warrants listed on the NYSE American. Following the date the common stock and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE American. Although after giving effect to our Initial Public Offering we have met the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NYSE American rules, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the NYSE American in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE American prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE American’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE American’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE American. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $4,600,000. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE American delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| ● | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ● | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ● | a determination that our common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our 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. |
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $4,600,000, 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 securities will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our Initial Public 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.
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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 10% or more of our common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares equal to or in excess of 10% of our 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 amended and restated 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to an aggregate of 10% or more of the shares sold in our Initial Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our 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 business combination, and as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares equal to or exceeding 10%. In order to dispose of such shares, you 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 $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share, on our redemption, 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 our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, if we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of common stock redeemed and, in the event we seek stockholder approval of our business combination, we make purchases of our common stock, the resources available to us for our initial business combination will potentially be reduced. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
If the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least 15 months following February 15, 2022 (or at least 18 months from the closing of our Initial Public Offering if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination), we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 15 months following February 15, 2022 (or at least 18 months from February 15, 2022 if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination), assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of our Initial Public Offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least 15 months following February 15, 2022 (or at least 18 months from February 15, 2022 if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination); however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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If the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search, to pay our taxes and to complete our business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units, only approximately $800,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) exceeds $800,000, 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 (excluding underwriting discounts and commissions) are less than $800,000, the amount of funds held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team or any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. 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. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, 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 inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
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 $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, less than $10.40) 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 creditors, 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 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. We are not aware of any product or service providers who have not or will not provide such waiver other than the underwriter of our Initial Public Offering.
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Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our business combination within 15 months from February 15, 2022, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our 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 could be less than the $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) 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 our a creditor or a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) 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 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 rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under indemnity of the underwriter of our Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, and our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share or (ii) other than due to the failure to obtain a waiver from a creditor or vendor 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 lesser amount per 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 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 in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) 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 the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public 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 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, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
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 business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including, without limitation, restrictions on the nature of our investments, and restrictions on the issuance of our securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including, without limitation, registration as an investment company; adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.
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In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not 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. The proceeds held in the trust account may be invested by the trustee only in United States government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds investing solely in United States Treasuries and meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act. Because the investment of the proceeds will be restricted to these instruments, we believe we will meet the requirements for the exemption provided in Rule 3a-1 promulgated under 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 consummate a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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 General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or 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 prescribed time frame may be considered a liquidation 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 12th month (or following the 18th month if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 10, 2022 in the event we do not complete our business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those 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 prescribed time frame is not considered a liquidation distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), 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 liquidation distribution.
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We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after our consummation of a business combination and you will not be entitled to any of the corporate protections provided by such a meeting.
In accordance with the NYSE American 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 the NYSE American. 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 a company’s 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 our consummation of a 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.
In our Initial Public Offering, we did not register the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants sold as part of the units under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise such warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise such warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We did not register the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants sold as part of the units in our Initial Public Offering under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our reasonable best efforts to file, and within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, to have declared effective, a registration statement relating to the common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants, and to maintain a current prospectus relating to such shares of common stock until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the 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 under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder or an exemption from registration or qualification is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our 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 use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws. 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 common stock included in the units. We may not redeem the warrants when a holder may not exercise such warrants.
The grant of registration rights to our sponsor in respect of its founder shares and private placement units and the grant of registration rights to holders of other securities 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 common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our Initial Public Offering, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register their founder shares at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register their private placement units (and their constituent securities, as well as shares of common stock underlying such constituent securities), and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, may demand that we register such warrants or the 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 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 stockholders 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 common stock that is expected when the above-described securities owned by our sponsor or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
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Because we are not limited to a particular industry or 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 in the energy industry, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet identified 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’ operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Because we intend to seek a business combination with a target business or businesses in the energy industry, we expect our future operations to be subject to risks associated with this industry.
We intend to initially focus our search for a target business in the energy industry. Accordingly, we may pursue a target business in these sectors or any other sector within the energy industry. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business or sector, we cannot provide specific risks of any business combination. However, risks inherent in investments in the energy industry include, but are not limited to, the following:
| ● | Volatility of oil and natural gas prices; |
| ● | Price and availability of alternative fuels, such as solar, coal, nuclear and wind energy; |
| ● | Competitive pressures in the utility industry, primarily in wholesale markets, as a result of consumer demand, technological advances, greater availability of natural gas and other factors; |
| ● | Significant federal, state and local regulation, taxation and regulatory approval processes as well as changes in applicable laws and regulations; |
| ● | The speculative nature of and high degree of risk involved in investments in the upstream, midstream and energy services sectors, including relying on estimates of oil and gas reserves and the impacts of regulatory and tax changes; |
| ● | Drilling, exploration and development risks, including encountering unexpected formations or pressures, premature declines of reservoirs, blow-outs, equipment failures and other accidents, cratering, sour gas releases, uncontrollable flows of oil, natural gas or well fluids, adverse weather conditions, pollution, fires, spills and other environmental risks, any of which could lead to environmental damage, injury and loss of life or the destruction of property; |
| ● | Proximity and capacity of oil, natural gas and other transportation and support infrastructure to production facilities; |
| ● | Availability of key inputs, such as strategic consumables, raw materials and drilling and processing equipment; |
| ● | The supply of and demand for oilfield services and equipment in the United States and internationally; |
| ● | Available pipeline, storage and other transportation capacity; |
| ● | Changes in global supply and demand and prices for commodities; |
| ● | Impact of energy conservation efforts; |
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| ● | Technological advances affecting energy production and consumption; |
| ● | Overall domestic and global economic conditions; |
| ● | Availability of, and potential disputes with, independent contractors; |
| ● | Natural disasters, terrorist acts and similar dislocations; |
| ● | Impact of COVID-19 on demand, labor markets, and other macro-economic factors affecting the energy industry, and |
| ● | Value of U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of other countries. |
We may seek acquisition opportunities in companies that may be outside of our management’s areas of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s areas of expertise if a business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. 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 report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that meets 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 law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal 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 $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may seek acquisition opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include 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 of 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.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our business combination with an affiliated entity, or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying for a target 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 our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our tender offer documents or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent and/or disinterested directors, will obtain an opinion from either an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We will also provide a summary of any such opinion or report to shareholders in connection with any vote on an initial business combination in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination in accordance with Section 1015(b) of Regulation S-K. Additionally, pursuant to the NYSE American rules, any initial business combination must be approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We may issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination, and any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after our Initial Public Offering, there were 81,521,250 authorized but unissued shares of common stock available for issuance, which amount takes into account shares of common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants, including the private warrants to be issued in the private placement. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common stock, and may issue shares of preferred stock, in order to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-business combination activity). However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
| ● | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in our Initial Public Offering; |
| ● | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| ● | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of 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; and |
| ● | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our common stock and/or 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 $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share 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 $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
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We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our 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 business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. 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.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our 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 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 of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’ 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 who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the tender offer materials or proxy statement relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which they may be entitled to substantial compensation and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see “Management — Directors and Executive Officers.”
Certain of our executive 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 following our initial business combination and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our executive officers and directors are, or may in the future become, affiliated with entities that are engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us following our initial business combination. See a description of our executive officers’ and directors’ current affiliations under the headings “Management” and “Management — Conflicts of Interest” below.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities 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. Our amended and 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.
For a complete discussion of our executive officers’ and directors’ business affiliations and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see “Management — Directors and Executive Officers,” “Management — Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or executive officers, although we do not currently intend to do so. We also do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
We may engage in a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers and directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management — Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities.
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Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business — Effecting our initial business combination — Selection of a target business and structuring of our initial business combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our executive officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest may still exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our sponsor will lose some or all of its investment in us if our business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our sponsor and its permitted transferees together hold 2,501,250 founder shares as of the date of this report. Our sponsor and its permitted transferee each has agreed to not transfer any of its ownership interest therein (except to certain permitted transferees) until the earlier of (i) 180 days following the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to the our initial business combination, the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after our initial business combination and (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. In addition, our sponsor and its permitted transferees each has entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which each has agreed to waive (i) its redemption rights with respect to all shares of our common stock then owned by it in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares and, solely with respect to our sponsor, the private placement shares, if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from the February 15, 2022, although it will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 505,000 private placement units for a purchase price of $5,050,000, or $10.00 per unit. The private placement units cannot be transferred except to certain permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
The founder shares and the private placement units (together with the securities included in the private placement units) will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. This and other personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 12-month (or within an 18-month if we extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) anniversary of February 10, 2022 nears, which is the deadline for our completion of an initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will not be eligible to be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket expenses if our business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination. These financial interests of our sponsor, executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination and completing an initial business combination.
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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
We may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our 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 security is payable on demand; |
| ● | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| ● | 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, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ● | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ● | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ● | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We will likely only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units, 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.
The net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units initially provided us with $87,975,000 that we may use to complete our business combination, assuming no redemptions.
We may effectuate our business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our 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 risks. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| ● | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or |
| ● | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our 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.
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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 a business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our 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. 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. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new 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 do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon the consummation of our initial business combination (such that we 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. As a result, we may be able to complete our 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 sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of 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, all shares of 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 effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination and increased redemption thresholds. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
Certain agreements related to our Initial Public Offering may be amended without stockholder approval.
Certain agreements, including the underwriting agreement relating to our Initial Public Offering, the investment management trust agreement between us and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the letter agreements between us and each of our executive officers, directors, sponsor and sponsor’s permitted transferees, the registration rights agreement among us and our sponsor, the administrative services agreement between us and our sponsor may be amended without stockholder approval. These agreements contain various provisions that our public stockholders might deem to be material. While we do not expect our board of directors to approve any amendment to any of these agreements prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board of directors, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to any such agreement in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Any such amendment may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
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Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed in ways adverse to us and our management team. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. These trends may continue into the future.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense and/or accept less favorable terms. Furthermore, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, after completion of any initial business combination, our directors and officers could be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to such initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not yet identified any prospective target business, and thus, cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement units prove to be insufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, 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 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 business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.30 (or, if both three-month extensions occur, $10.40) per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our sponsor controls a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own approximately 22.48% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock.
Accordingly, it may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support. If our sponsor purchases any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase its influence.
Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our sponsor, is and will be divided into two classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of two 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 half of the board of directors will be considered for election and our sponsor, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our business combination.
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Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.01 per share for the founder shares, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our common stock.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the common stock and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our common stock after our Initial Public Offering constitutes dilution to you and the other investors in our Initial Public Offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public stockholders incurred an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 105.4% (or $10.5416 per share) , the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $(0.54) and the effective initial offering price of $10.00 per unit.
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 the common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations and recapitalizations) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period commencing at any time after the warrants become exercisable and ending on the third business day prior to proper notice of such redemption provided that on the date we give notice of redemption and during the entire period thereafter until the time we redeem the warrants, we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available. 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. 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, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
Our management’s ability to require holders of our warrants to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis will cause holders to receive fewer shares of common stock upon their exercise of the warrants than they would have received had they been able to exercise their warrants for cash.
If we call our public warrants for redemption after the redemption criteria described elsewhere in our Initial Public Offering prospectus have been satisfied, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise his warrant (including any private warrants) to do so on a “cashless basis.” If our management chooses to require holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, the number of shares of common stock received by a holder upon exercise will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. This will have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company.
If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, holders will only be able to exercise such warrants on a “cashless basis.”
If we do not file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants at the time that holders wish to exercise such warrants, they will only be able to exercise them on a “cashless basis” provided that an exemption from registration is available. As a result, the number of shares of common stock that holders will receive upon exercise of the warrants will be fewer than it would have been had such holder exercised his warrant for cash. Further, if an exemption from registration is not available, holders would not be able to exercise on a cashless basis and would only be able to exercise their warrants for cash if a current and effective prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is available. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed to use our reasonable best efforts to meet these conditions and to file and maintain a current and effective prospectus relating to the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants until the expiration of the warrants. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to do so. If we are unable to do so, the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company may be reduced or the warrants may expire worthless.
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An investor will only be able to exercise a warrant if the issuance of shares of common stock upon such exercise has been registered or qualified or is deemed exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants.
No warrants will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue shares of common stock unless the shares of common stock issuable upon such exercise has been registered or qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the holder of the warrants. If the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not qualified or exempt from qualification in the jurisdictions in which the holders of the warrants reside, the warrants may be deprived of any value, the market for the warrants may be limited and they may expire worthless if they cannot be sold.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders 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 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 (i) to cure any ambiguity or correct any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement in our Initial Public Offering prospectus, or to cure, correct or supplement any defective provision, or (ii) to add or change any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the interests of the registered holders of the warrants. The warrant agreement requires the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants in order to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. Accordingly, we may 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 common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
If:
| ● | we issue additional shares of common stock 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 of common stock, |
| ● | 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 the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the greater of (i) the Market Value or (ii) the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our business combination.
We issued warrants to purchase 8,625,000 shares of common stock as part of the units offered by our Initial Public Offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering, we issued private placement warrants exercisable to purchase an aggregate of 505,000 shares of our common stock as part of the private placement units. Our sponsor has purchased from us an aggregate of 505,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($5,050,000 in the aggregate). To the extent we issue shares of common stock to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of common stock upon exercise of these rights and warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, if and when exercised, would increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our common stock and reduce the value of the shares of common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
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The determination of the offering price of our units and the size of our Initial Public 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 our Initial Public 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 underwriter. In determining the size of our Initial Public Offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriter, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriter believed it reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of our Initial Public Offering, prices and terms of the units, including the common stock and warrants included in 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 at attractive values; |
| ● | 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 our Initial Public 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. The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. 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.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement 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 the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (i) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (ii) 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.
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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.
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 historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP, or international financial reporting standards 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.
We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, which 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, and 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 auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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 will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of February 15, 2022, or December 31, 2027, (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.00 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
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 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. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an “emerging growth company,” can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an “emerging growth company” nor an “emerging growth company” which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountant standards used.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our 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, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an “emerging growth company,” we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our 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.
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We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. We may identify additional material weaknesses in the future or otherwise fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, which may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or cause us to fail to meet our periodic reporting obligations.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation of those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting relating to our lack of sufficient accounting personnel to manage the Company’s financial accounting process and certain accruals not initially being recorded in a timely manner, as further described in “Item 9A – Controls and Procedures.”
If we are unable to remediate our material weaknesses in a timely manner or we identify additional material weaknesses, we may be unable to provide required financial information in a timely and reliable manner and we may incorrectly report financial information. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our Class A ordinary shares is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements on Form S-3 or Form S-4, which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. The existence of material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting could adversely affect our reputation or investor perceptions of us, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.
We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weakness identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
Provisions in our amended and restated 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 common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated 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 board of directors and the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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 more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will require, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, that (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers or employees governed by the internal affairs doctrine may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware, except any claim (A) as to which the Court of Chancery of 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. If an action is brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing the suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. 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, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers, although our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.
Our amended and restated 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, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. We note, however, that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce this provision and that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder. Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for state and federal courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.
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. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our business combination. If we fail to complete our business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience and performance of our management team is neither a guarantee that we will be able to successfully identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination nor of any results with respect to any initial business combination we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s performance as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful. None of our officers and directors has experience with SPACs.
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Changes in tax laws and regulations could adversely impact our earnings and the cost, manner or feasibility of conducting our operations.
Members of Congress periodically introduce legislation to revise U.S. federal income tax laws which could have a material impact on us. Most recently, on August 16, 2022, legislation commonly known as the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law. Among other things, the Inflation Reduction Act includes a 1% excise tax on corporate stock repurchases, applicable to repurchases made after December 31, 2022, and also a new minimum tax based on book income. We are in the process of evaluating the potential impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act to us. While we do not currently expect the Inflation Reduction Act to have a material impact on our financial statements, our analysis of the effect of the Inflation Reduction Act on us is ongoing and incomplete, and it is possible that the Inflation Reduction Act (or implementing regulations and other guidance) could adversely impact our current and deferred federal tax liability. Additionally, state and local taxing authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate or own assets may enact new taxes, such as the imposition of a severance tax on the extraction of natural resources in states in which we produce natural gas, NGLs and oil, or change the rates of existing taxes, which could adversely impact our earnings, cash flows and financial position.
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 and results of operations.
On March 30, 2022, the SEC issued proposed rules relating to, among other items, enhancing disclosures in business combination transactions involving SPACs and private operating companies; amending the financial statement requirements applicable to transactions involving shell companies; effectively limiting the use of projections in SEC filings in connection with proposed business combination transactions; increasing the potential liability of certain participants in proposed business combination transactions; and the extent to which SPACs could become subject to regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940. These rules, if adopted, whether in the form proposed or in revised form, may materially adversely affect our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and may increase the costs and time related thereto
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
We maintain our principal executive offices at 3730 Kirby Drive, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas 77098. The cost of our use of this space is included in the 10,000 per month fee we currently pay to an affiliate of our sponsor for office space, administrative and support services. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
(a) Market Information
Our units commenced public trading on February 10, 2022, on the NYSE American under the symbol “HNRAU” and ceased trading on April 4, 2022. Our common stock and redeemable warrants commenced trading separately on the NYSE American under the symbols “HNRA” and HNRAW”, respectively on April 4, 2022.
(b) Holders
On March 27, 2023, there were 24 holders of record for our shares of common stock and 1 holder of our warrants. The number of record holders was determined from the records of our transfer agent and does not include beneficial owners of our shares of common stock whose shares are held in the names of various security brokers, dealers and registered clearing agencies.
(c) 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 an initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any stock dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
(d) Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
(e) Performance Graph
Not applicable.
(f) Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
On December 24, 2020, our sponsor purchased 2,875,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, up to 375,000 founder shares of which were subject to forfeiture. On February 4, 2022, our sponsor forfeited 373,750 founder shares and as a result, there are currently 2,501,250 founder shares issued and outstanding. 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. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 505,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($5,050,000 in the aggregate). This purchase took place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our Initial Public Offering. This issuance was made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Use of Proceeds
In connection with our Initial Public Offering, we incurred offering costs of $4,793,698 (including underwriting commissions of approximately $1,725,000, deferred underwriting fee of $2,587,500 and other offering costs of $481,198). Other incurred offering costs consisted principally of preparation fees related to the Initial Public Offering. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and the Initial Public Offering expenses, $1,368,050 of the net proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and certain of the proceeds from the private placement of the private placement units (or $10.30 per unit sold in our Initial Public Offering) was placed in the trust account. The net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants are held in the trust account and invested as described elsewhere in this Report.
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Effective April 11, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement with Rhone Merchant Resources Inc. (formerly known as Houston Natural Resources Inc.), a Company controlled by our Chairman and CEO, for services related to identifying potential business combination targets. The Company paid $275,000 up front related to this agreement in February 2022.
Additionally, In February 2022, the Company repaid the $88,200 in short term advances from a shareholder of the Sponsor, and agreed to pay an additional $190,202 for expenses the individual incurred related to services provided by our sponsor.
There has been no material change in the planned use of the proceeds from our Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants as is described in our final prospectus related to our Initial Public Offering. Other than as described above, no payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our common stock or to their associates, or to our affiliates.
(g) Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
ITEM 6. [RESERVED]
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Amendment including, without limitation, statements under “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. When used in this Amendment, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or the Company’s management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Amendment. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.
Overview
We are a newly organized blank check company incorporated on December 9, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and 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. Our efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any industry or sector, we intend to focus on assets used in exploring, developing, producing, transporting, storing, gathering, processing, fractionating, refining, distributing or marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil or refined products in North America.
As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, we had $75,612 and $38,743 in cash, respectively, and a working capital deficit of $788,689 and $186,015, respectively (excluding deferred offering costs). We expect to continue to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
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Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from inception (December 9, 2020) through December 31, 2022 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for our Initial Public Offering, described below, and, after our Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our business combination. We generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held in the trust account, and changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities. We incur expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.
For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we had a net loss of $750,347 and $13,782, respectively, which consisted of $1,598,013 and $13,782 of operating costs, respectively, $200,000 and $0 of franchise tax, partially offset by $1,268,362 and $0 of interest income on marketable securities held in our Trust Account, and $969 and $0 of interest income, respectively. Operating costs increased during the current year due to the Company’s Initial Public Offering that closed in February 2022, and costs related to pursuit of the Company’s Initial Business Combination. We also recognized income tax expense of $221,665 and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On February 15, 2022, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 8,625,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit (including 1,125,000 units from the full exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), generating gross proceeds of $86,250,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 505,000 private placement units to the Sponsor at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $5,050,000. Following the Initial Public Offering, the exercise of the over-allotment option and the sale of the private placement units, a total of $82,925,000 of net proceeds were placed in the trust account. We incurred $4,793,698 in transaction costs, including $2,587,500 of underwriting fees, $1,725,000 of underwriting discount and $481,198 of other offering costs.
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 deferred underwriting commissions and income taxes payable), to complete our business combination. To the extent that our equity or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, our sponsor and our initial stockholders or their affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete a business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants identical to the private placement warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
At December 31, 2022, we had $75,612 in cash and a working capital deficit of $788,689. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of our financing and acquisition plans. On February 5, 2023, the Company received notice from the Sponsor of its intention to extend the Combination period by three months until May 15, 2023. On February 8, 2023 in accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the Sponsor’s designee deposited $862,500 into the Company’s trust account in connection with the extension. There is one additional three-month extension available to the Company. In the event we do not complete a Business Combination by May 15, 2023, or within an additional three months from that date if the available extension is exercised, the Company is required to redeem the public shares sold in the Initial Public Offering. Additionally, our officers, directors and Sponsor may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion, to meet the Company’s working capital needs. Accordingly, the Company may not be able to obtain additional financing. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of a potential transaction, and reducing overhead expenses. We cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to consummate a Business Combination will be successful within the Combination Period. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
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We believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. If our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating a business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon consummation of our business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our business combination. If we are unable to complete our 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 business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our obligations.
Off-balance sheet financing arrangements
We did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2022.
Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay our Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. The Company has paid $124,250 to the Sponsor through December 31, 2022 for administrative support services.
Critical Accounting Policies
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have identified the following critical accounting policies:
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption:
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity”. Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to the redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock issued in the Initial Public Offering feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the shares of common stock subject to possible redemption will be presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet upon closing of the Initial Public Offering.
Net Loss Per Shares of Common Stock:
Net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares for the year ended December 31, 2021 were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 375,000 shares of common stock subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option was not exercised by the underwriter (see Note 3). The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 6,847,500 shares in the calculation of diluted income per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As a result, diluted loss per share of common stock is the same as basic loss per share of common stock for the period presented.
The Company’s statements of operations include a presentation of net loss per share for common stock shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted, for redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net income allocable to redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of redeemable common shares outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per common stock, basic and diluted, for non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing net income allocable to non-redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of shares of non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the periods. Shares of non-redeemable common stock include the founder shares as these common shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account.
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Financial Instruments:
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, approximates the carrying amounts represented on the balance sheet.
The Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
| ● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| ● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| ● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt-Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. The amendments are effective for smaller reporting companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06 would have on its financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
This information appears following Item 16 of this Amendment and is included herein by reference.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial and Accounting Officer), as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2022. Based upon his evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) concluded that, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective related to the lack of sufficient accounting personnel to manage the Company’s financial accounting process and certain accruals not initially being recorded in a timely manner which combined constituted a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Management concluded that a deficiency in internal control over financial reporting existed relating to the lack of sufficient accounting personnel and certain accruals not being recorded in a timely manner constituted a material weakness as defined in the SEC regulations.
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Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our consolidated financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that: (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company, (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.
Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2022. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013). Based on our assessments and those criteria, management determined that we did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022 due to the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting described above.
This Annual Report on Form 10-K does not include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
During the most recently completed fiscal quarter, there has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. In light of the restatement of our financial statements included in the Prior Reports, we plan to enhance our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION.
Not applicable.
ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS.
Not applicable.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Directors and Executive Officers
Our current directors and executive officers are as follows:
| Name | Age | Title | ||
| Donald H. Goree | 65 | Chief Executive Officer, Director and Chairman | ||
| Donald W. Orr | 70 | President and Director | ||
| Joseph V. Salvucci, Sr. | 66 | Independent Director | ||
| Diego Rojas | 68 | Independent Director | ||
| Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr. | 38 | Independent Director |
Donald H. Goree founded our company and has served as our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since our inception. Mr. Goree is also the founder of Houston Natural Resources, Inc., a global natural resource corporation located in Houston, Texas and controlling member of our sponsor, and has served as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer since January 2018. Mr. Goree is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Houston Natural Resources Corp, positions he has held since April 2020. Mr. Goree has over 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry involving exploration and production, oil and gas pipeline construction and operations, natural gas gathering, processing and gas liquification. In 2003, Mr. Goree founded Global Xchange Solutions AG., a publicly reporting corporation, private equity, investment bank and market-making firm, based in Zurich, Switzerland, with offices in Frankfurt, Germany and London, United Kingdom, and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Global Xchange Solutions from 2002 to 2012. Global Xchange Solutions sponsored listings of private companies to the London Stock Exchange, AIM, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Berlin Stock Exchange and the Börse Stuttgart, and provided public company development and market development advice. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Goree served as Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Azur Holdings, Inc., a Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based, OTC-listed luxury real estate developer of mid-rise waterfront condominiums. From 2012 to 2019, Mr. Goree served as the Managing Director of Rhone Merchant House Ltd., a firm which provides merchant banking and investment banking services to a small and elite list of clients. Mr. Goree has an Executive Master of Business and Entrepreneurship degree from the Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business. We believe Mr. Goree is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors based on our review of his experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, including co-founding our company and other companies and his executive leadership experience in the oil and gas industry.
Donald W. Orr has served as our President and a member of our Board of Directors since January 2021. Mr. Orr is a geologist with over 42 years of experience in petroleum geology and production operations. Mr. Orr began his career as a junior geologist with Texas Oil and Gas Corporation in 1976. In February 1979, Mr. Orr helped form American Shoreline, Inc., an independent oil and gas company. Mr. Orr was previously held the title of Senior Geologist at Seven Energy LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Weatherford International plc from June 2005 to August 2008, where he helped pioneered numerous innovations in UBD (underbalanced drilling), including drilling with unconventional materials and devising the methodology for unlocking the productive capacity of the Buda Lime through the use of UBD. In June 2009, Mr. Orr founded XNP Resources, LLC, an independent oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development, production, and acquisition of oil and natural gas resources. Shortly thereafter, XNP Resources teamed up with Tahoe Energy Partners, LLC in 2012 to acquire oil and gas leases for drilling in the Rocky Mountain region. At Mr. Orr’s direction, XNP Resources began acquiring a strategic leasehold position in the Sand Wash Basin in Colorado. XNP Resources was able to secure a major leasehold position in the heart of what has become the highly competitive Niobrara Shale formation in western Colorado. Since 2014, Mr. Orr has been developing an unconventional resource play in Alaska that contains over 600 billion cubic feet of gas in stacked coal reservoirs. More recently, Mr. Orr assembled a team of oil and gas professionals in order to study certain oil provinces in Columbia. S.A. Mr. Orr also serves as President and on the Board of Directors of Houston Natural Resources, Inc. Mr. Orr has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Texas A&I University, with a minor in Mathematics.
Joseph V. Salvucci, Sr. has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2021. Mr. Salvucci acquired PEAK Technical Staffing USA (“PEAK”), peaktechnical.com in 1986 and has grown the business to be a premier provider of USA-based contract engineers and technical specialists, on assignment worldwide through a comprehensive, customer focused, enterprise-wide Managed Staffing Solution. During his 35 year tenure as owner of the company, PEAK has expanded from Pittsburgh to do business in all 50 States, Canada, Europe, South America, India, and the Philippines. Mr. Salvucci is also active in several professional and charitable organizations. He served 10 years on the board of directors culminating as President of the National Technical Services Association, a trade association representing 300,000 contractors on assignment in the technical staffing industry, later merging with the American Staffing Association. He is an active member of the Young Presidents Organization Gold, formerly known as the World Presidents Organization (WPO), and has served as a member of the WPO International Board, as well as chairman of East Central US (ECUS) Region and Pittsburgh chapters. As a 1976 Civil Engineering graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, he was member of the Triangle (Engineering) Fraternity and its Alumni Association. He earned the Triangle Fraternity Distinguished Alumnus Citation in 2011 and currently serves on the Board of Directors. After earning the rank of Eagle Scout in 1970, he has remained active with the Boy Scouts of America, having served as Chairman of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Eagle Scout Association, earning the NOESA (National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award) and the Silver Beaver Award and is currently VP of Development and a board member of the Laurel Highlands Council in Western Pennsylvania. He was awarded the Manifesting the Kingdom Award by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2011. He was awarded the “Big Mac Award” from the Ronald McDonald Charities. He earned his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1976 and attended Harvard Business School’s OPM 33. We believe Mr. Salvucci is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors based on our review of his extensive executive experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, including founding and growing PEAK into a global staffing enterprise.
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Diego Rojas has served as a member of our board of directors since January 2021. Mr. Rojas has 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry with most of that experience in energy operations onshore, offshore and internationally. He began his career in 1975 with Exxon Company USA in their Southeast Division headquarters in New Orleans, Louisiana, and eventually became District Engineering Manager for Exxon’s Offshore District, with responsibility for more than 75 engineers, 200 offshore platforms and 2,000 wells. After leaving Exxon, Mr. Rojas led several independent companies both in the United States and Latin America, including Enercap Corp (formerly, DCR Petroleum), which he founded in 1983, and served as Principal Owner until 1985. Prior to DRC Petroleum, Mr. Rojas was an independent acquisitions and operations consultant involved in exploration and production (E&P) and services company activities. From 1991 to 1994, Mr. Rojas served as Vice President of King Ranch Capital, where he managed King Ranch Capital’s acquisitions group. For the past five years Mr. Rojas has served as a consultant with Enerlat, a private consulting company which he controls. Mr. Rojas graduated with honors from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. We believe Mr. Rojas is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors based on our review of his experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, including his management experience and his considerable experience in the oil and gas industry.
Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr. has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2021. Mr. Salvucci began his career with PEAK in November 2010 and is currently serving as the President and Chief Operating Officer overseeing nine branches with several hundred employees, and the Marketing and Recruiting Process Enhancement departments. Joseph also oversees strategic initiatives, including Staff Training, Career Pathing, and Organic Growth. A graduate of Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, Mr. Salvucci earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with emphasis in Finance, and studied Business in London. Before joining PEAK, Mr. Salvucci worked with Merrill Lynch in various banking and brokerage back-office functions from 2007 to 2009. In addition to his responsibilities as President/COO of PEAK, Mr. Salvucci serves on the board of Temporary Services Insurance Limited, a Workers’ Compensation company serving staffing companies. We believe Mr. Salvucci is qualified to serve as a member of our board of directors based on our review of his extensive experience, qualifications, attributes and skills, including his education and expertise in finance, and his management and executive experience as President and COO of PEAK.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships between any of our officers and directors, except that Mr. Joseph V. Salvucci Jr. and Mr. Joseph V. Salvucci Sr. are father and son.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors has five directors. Our board of directors is divided into two 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 one-year term. The class I directors consist of Diego Rojas and Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr., and their term expires at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The class II directors will consist of Donald H Goree, Donald W. Orr and Joseph V. Salvucci, Sr. and their term expires at the second annual meeting of stockholders. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after we consummate our initial business combination.
Our officers are elected 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 a Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Assistant Secretaries, Treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
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Director Independence
The NYSE American 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 or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Of the current members of our board of directors, Messrs. Salvucci Sr., Rojas and Salvucci Jr. are each considered an “independent director” under the NYSE American listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Executive Officer and Director Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us, other than Donald W. Orr, as detailed below.
We currently pay our sponsor $5,000 per month for providing us with office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services. We also agreed to pay Sponsor an additional $5,000 per month for such services, but have agreed with Sponsor to defer payment to Sponsor of such additional accrued amounts until the closing of the Purchase. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide our officers or directors compensation in lieu of a salary. Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination. Our audit committee will review and approve all reimbursements and payments made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their respective affiliates, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval.
Other than the $5,000 per month, including the deferred payments, administrative fee for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services, and the reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, and $5,000 per month paid to Donald W. Orr, no compensation or fees of any kind will be paid to our sponsor, or members of our management team or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
On December 8, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to compensate the directors of the Company through the issuance of shares of the Company equal in value to $100,000 per director, which shall be payable and issued subject to one year of continued service to the Company commencing after the completion of the initial business combination (and which shall be pro-rated for any period less than one year of service).
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other 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. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined by a compensation committee consisting solely of independent directors in accordance with the compensation committee charter.
Some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after the initial business combination. We do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each committee operates under a charter that has been approved by our board of directors and has the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website. Our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee is composed solely of independent directors.
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Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. The members of our audit committee are Messrs. Salvucci Sr. and Salvucci Jr., and Mr. Salvucci Jr. serves as chairman of the audit committee. As a smaller reporting company under the NYSE American listing standards, we are required to have at least two members on the audit committee. The rules of the NYSE American and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each of Messrs. Salvucci Sr. and Salvucci Jr. qualifies as an independent director under applicable rules. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Salvucci Jr. qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ● | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered accounting firm and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| ● | pre-approving all audit and non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered accounting firm or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| ● | reviewing and discussing with the independent registered accounting firm 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 registered accounting firm; |
| ● | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ● | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered accounting firm’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; |
| ● | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| ● | reviewing with management, the independent registered accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors consisting of three members. The members of our Compensation Committee are Messrs. Rojas and Salvucci, Jr. Mr. Salvucci, Jr. serves as chairman of the compensation committee. Under the NYSE American listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members on the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| ● | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
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| ● | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other executive officers; |
| ● | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ● | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ● | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ● | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
| ● | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ● | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and 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 NYSE American and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee. The members of our nominating and corporate governance are Messrs. Rojas and Salvucci Jr. Mr. Rojas serves as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
The primary purposes of our nominating and corporate governance committee are to assist the board in:
| ● | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of stockholders or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ● | developing, recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ● | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| ● | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The nominating and corporate governance committee is governed by a charter that complies with the rules of the NYSE American.
Director Nominations
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will recommend to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of the stockholders. The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders).
We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
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Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our executive officers currently serves, and in the past year has not served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors, except that Donald W. Orr, our President and Board member, serves on the Board of Directors of Houston Natural Resources, Inc., an entity of which Donald H. Goree, our Chairman of the Board, serves as Chief Executive Officer.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. The Code of Ethics and the charter of each committee is available on our website. In addition, a copy of the 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. 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 another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor these fiduciary obligations under applicable law. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides 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.
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. For a complete description of our management’s other affiliations, see “— Directors and Executive Officers.” |
| ● | Our sponsor and its permitted transferees each has entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which each has agreed to waive (i) its redemption rights with respect to all shares of our common stock then owned by it in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares and, solely with respect to the sponsor, the private placement shares, if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 15 months (or within 18 months if we further extend the period of time to consummate a business combination) from February 15, 2022 (although its will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares it holds if we fail to complete our business combination within the prescribed time frame). If we do not complete our initial business combination within the allotted time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement units will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement units (and their constituent securities) will expire worthless. Except for transfers to permitted transferees, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable or salable by our sponsor until the earlier of (i) 180 days following the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after our initial business combination and (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. The private placement units (and their constituent securities) cannot be transferred except to certain permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Given these characteristics of certain of our securities held by our sponsor, our sponsor may have a conflict of interest with respect to whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
| ● | Our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans in the form of promissory notes from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. |
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The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
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 amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the doctrine of corporate opportunity will not apply with respect to any of our officers or directors in circumstances where the application of the doctrine would conflict with any fiduciary duties or contractual obligations they may have. We do not believe that these contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our business combination. Our amended and 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 company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We will also provide a summary of any such opinion or report to shareholders in connection with any vote on an initial business combination in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination in accordance with Section 1015(b) of Regulation S-K.
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our sponsor has agreed to vote all shares of our common stock having voting rights that it then owns in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Our amended and restated 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 amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be personally liable for monetary damages to us 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 amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our bylaws also permit us to maintain 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 obtain 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.
These provisions may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, 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.
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ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Officer and Director Compensation
We currently pay our sponsor $5,000 per month for providing us with office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services. We’ve also agreed to pay Sponsor an additional $5,000 per month for such services, but have agreed with Sponsor to defer payment to Sponsor of such additional accrued amounts until the closing of the Purchase. However, this arrangement is solely for our benefit and is not intended to provide our officers or directors compensation in lieu of a salary. Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. There is no limit on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses reimbursable by us; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination. Our audit committee will review and approve all reimbursements and payments made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their respective affiliates, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval.
Other than the $5,000 per month, including the deferred payments, administrative fee for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services, and the reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, and $5,000 per month paid to Donald W. Orr, no compensation or fees of any kind will be paid to our sponsor, or members of our management team or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).
On December 8, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to compensate the directors of the Company through the issuance of shares of the Company equal in value to $100,000 per director, which shall be payable and issued subject to one year of continued service to the Company commencing after the completion of the initial business combination (and which shall be pro-rated for any period less than one year of service).
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review and approve all reimbursements and payments made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their respective affiliates, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval. 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; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other 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. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors in accordance with the compensation committee charter.
Some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after the initial business combination. We do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of the date of this report, 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 as a group. |
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Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement units (and their constituent securities) as these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this report.
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2) | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock(3) | ||||||
| HNRAC Sponsors LLC | 122,656 | 1.05 | % | |||||
| Donald H. Goree(7) | 367,969 | 3.16 | % | |||||
| Donald W. Orr(4) | — | — | ||||||
| Joseph V. Salvucci, Sr. | — | — | ||||||
| Diego Rojas | — | — | ||||||
| Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr.(5) | — | — | ||||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group (5 individuals) | 367,969 | 3.16 | % | |||||
| JVS Alpha Property, LLC(6) | 940,000 | 8.08 | % | |||||
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 3730 Kirby Drive, Suite 1200, Houston, Texas 77098. |
| (2) | Consists solely of founder shares. |
| (3) | Based on 11,631,250 shares of common stock outstanding. |
| (4) | Mr. Orr, as Manager of HNRAC Sponsors LLC, has voting and dispositive control over the securities held by such entity, however he disclaims any beneficial ownership of such shares. |
| (5) | Mr. Salvucci Jr. has sole voting and dispositive control over the securities held by JVS Alpha Property, LLC, however he disclaims any beneficial ownership of such shares. |
| (6) | JVS Alpha Property, LLC’s Manager is Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr., who has voting and dispositive control over the shares held by such entity. |
| (7) |
Mr. Goree has sole voting and dispositive control over the securities held by Rhone Merchant House Ltd, which was transferred 367,969 private placement shares and warrants by Sponsor in a permitted transfer subsequent to the Initial Public Offering. |
Changes in Control
None.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
On December 24, 2020, our sponsor purchased 2,875,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, up to 375,000 founder shares of which were subject to forfeiture. On February 4, 2022, our sponsor forfeited 373,750 founder shares and as a result, there are currently 2,501,250 founder shares issued and outstanding. The purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the company by the number of founder shares issued. Our sponsor has agreed not transfer any of its ownership interest in the founder shares (except to certain permitted transferees) until the earlier of (i) 180 days following of the completion of our initial business combination or earlier if, subsequent to our initial business combination, the last sale price of our common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 90 days after our initial business combination and (ii) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, stock exchange or other similar transaction after our initial business combination that results in all of our public stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
Our sponsor has purchased from us an aggregate of 505,000 private placement units at a price of $10.00 per unit ($5,050,000 in the aggregate) in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering. The common stock and warrants which were components of the private placement units cannot be transferred except to certain permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Such permitted transferees include our executive officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them. Any permitted transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as our sponsor. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor or any of its permitted transferees, such warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in our Initial Public Offering.
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As more fully discussed in “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our executive officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
On December 8, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to compensate the directors of the Company through the issuance of shares of the Company equal in value to $100,000 per director, which shall be payable and issued subject to one year of continued service to the Company commencing after the completion of the initial business combination (and which shall be pro-rated for any period less than one year of service).
Through December 31, 2021, a shareholder of our sponsor funded certain offering costs, totaling $88,200. The amount owed to our sponsor is unsecured, due on demand and non-interest bearing. In February 2022, the Company repaid the $88,200 in short term advances from a shareholder of the Sponsor, and paid an additional $190,202 for expenses the individual incurred related to services provided by our sponsor.
We entered into an Administrative Services Agreement pursuant to which we will pay our sponsor $10,000 per month for up to 12 months from February 10, 2022 for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services. None of the $10,000 per month payment will be received by our officers or directors or their affiliates (other than our sponsor). In the event the consummation of our initial business combination takes the maximum 18 months, our sponsor will be paid a total of $180,000 ($10,000 per month) for office space, utilities, secretarial and administrative services, and will be entitled to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses relating to certain activities it conducts on our behalf, as discussed below.
Effective April 11, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement with Rhone Merchant Resources Inc. (formerly known as Houston Natural Resources Inc.), a Company controlled by our Chairman and CEO, for services related to identifying potential business combination targets. The Company paid $275,000 up front related to this agreement in February 2022.
On May 1, 2022, and effective April 6, 2022, the Company entered into a consulting agreement in the ordinary course of business with a stockholder who owns 400,000 non-redeemable common shares, whereby any business acquisition that the Company closes through referral by the consultant will entitle the consultant to a finders fee. During year ended December 31, 2022, the Company also paid this stockholder $61,000 related to costs of capital associated with the Company’s IPO and $30,260 of acquisition related costs. During the year ended December 31, 2022, this stockholder paid expenses of $29,000 on behalf of the Company. These expenses and an additional $27,000 paid subsequent to December 31, 2022 were restructured into a promissory note and warrant purchase agreement with the consultant in January 2023.
During the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred and paid $15,000 to a company controlled by a member of the Board of Directors of the Company for due diligence costs of potential targets.
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review and approve all reimbursements and payments made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their respective affiliates, with any interested director abstaining from such review and approval. 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; provided, however, that to the extent such expenses exceed the available proceeds not deposited in the trust account, such expenses would not be reimbursed by us unless we consummate an initial business combination.
In order to meet our working capital needs following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering if the funds available to us are insufficient, our sponsor or its affiliates may, but are not obligated to, loan or advance to us funds, from time to time or at any time, in whatever amount they deem reasonable in their sole discretion. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay or reimburse, as applicable, such loaned or advanced amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay or reimburse, as applicable, such loaned or advanced amounts, but no other proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment or reimbursement. The terms of such loans or advances by our sponsor or its affiliates, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans or advances.
In December 2022, the Company received $100,000 in cash proceeds from a member of the Board of Directors on an unsecured, non-interest bearing basis. This amount was included in Due to related parties on the Company’s balance sheet as of December 31, 2022. In January 2023, the Company received an additional $300,000 in cash proceeds and entered into a note and warrant purchase agreement.
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After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders.
We have entered into one or more registration rights agreements with respect to the founder shares, the private placement shares and warrants, and any warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans (if any).
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
Our audit committee must review and approve any related person transaction we propose to enter into. Our audit committee charter details the policies and procedures relating to transactions that may present actual, potential or perceived conflicts of interest and may raise questions as to whether such transactions are consistent with the best interest of our company and our stockholders. A summary of such policies and procedures is set forth below.
Any potential related party transaction that is brought to the audit committee’s attention will be analyzed by the audit committee, in consultation with outside counsel or members of management, as appropriate, to determine whether the transaction or relationship does, in fact, constitute a related party transaction. At its meetings, the audit committee will be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, the business purpose of the transaction and the benefits to us and to the relevant related party.
In determining whether to approve a related party transaction, the audit committee must consider, among other factors, the following factors to the extent relevant:
| ● | whether the terms of the transaction are fair to us and on the same basis as would apply if the transaction did not involve a related party; |
| ● | whether there are business reasons for us to enter into the transaction; |
| ● | whether the transaction would impair the independence of an outside director; |
| ● | whether the transaction would present an improper conflict of interest for any director or executive officer; and |
| ● | any pre-existing contractual obligations. |
Any member of the audit committee who has an interest in the transaction under discussion must abstain from any voting regarding the transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the audit committee, participate in some or all of the audit committee’s discussions of the transaction. Upon completion of its review of the transaction, the audit committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the transaction.
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Our sponsor, officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoter” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
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 sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained 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 our company and our stockholders from a financial point of view. No finder’s fees, reimbursements, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, for services rendered to us prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments have been or will be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of our Initial Public Offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
| ● | Repayment of up to an aggregate of $88,200 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering related and organizational expenses; |
| ● | Payment to an affiliate of our sponsor of $10,000 per month, for up to 18 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support; |
| ● | Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination; and |
| ● | Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors 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 $1,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. |
Our audit committee reviews on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP, or Marcum, and MaloneBailey, LLP, or MaloneBailey, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum and previously provided by MaloneBailey in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees to be billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 were $37,000, and Marcum billed the Company for $86,797 in fees related to the audit of our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 and interim review of our financial statements. The aggregate fees billed by MaloneBailey for professional services rendered for the review of the financial information for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2021, totaled $42,500. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Marcum or MaloneBailey for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Tax Fees. We paid no fees to Marcum or MaloneBailey for tax planning and tax advice for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
All Other Fees. We incurred $18,540 in other fees for services from Marcum during the year ended December 31, 2022. We did not pay MaloneyBailey for other services for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Pre-Approval Policy
Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our Initial Public Offering. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENTS SCHEDULES
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Report: |
| (1) | Financial Statements: |
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this Report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Copies of such material can also be obtained from the Public Reference Section of the SEC, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, at prescribed rates or on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
| * | Filed herewith. |
ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
Not applicable.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Form 10-K to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
March 31, 2023
| HNR ACQUISITION CORP | ||
| /s/ Donald H. Goree | ||
| Name: | Donald H. Goree | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this Report on Form 10-K has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Position | Date | ||
| /s/ Donald H. Goree | Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
| Donald H. Goree | (Principal Executive, Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Donald Orr | President and Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
| Donald Orr | ||||
| /s/ Diego Rojas | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
| Diego Rojas | ||||
| /s/ Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr. | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
| Joseph V. Salvucci, Jr. | ||||
| /s/ Joseph V. Salvucci, Sr. | Director | March 31, 2023 | ||
| Joseph V. Salvucci, Sr. |
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HNR ACQUISITION CORP
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
HNR Acquisition Corp
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of HNR Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related statements of operations, stockholders’ (deficit) equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2022 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination. If the Company is unable to complete a business combination, a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution will occur. The Company has a significant working capital deficiency as of December 31, 2022, has incurred significant losses and needs to raise additional funds to meet its obligations and sustain its operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB") and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit[s] also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum llp
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2022.
March 31, 2023
F-2
HNR ACQUISITION CORP
BALANCE SHEETS
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ||||||||
| Deferred offering costs | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY | ||||||||
| Current liabilities | ||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||
| Income tax payable | ||||||||
| Franchise tax payable | ||||||||
| Advances from related party | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | ||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies (Note 6) | ||||||||
| Redeemable Common Stock | ||||||||
| Redeemable Common Stock, $ | ||||||||
| Stockholders’ (deficit) equity | ||||||||
| Preferred stock, $ | ||||||||
| Common stock, $ | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total stockholders’ (deficit) equity | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total redeemable common stock, liabilities and stockholders’ (deficit) equity | $ | $ | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-3
HNR ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
| Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
| 2022 | 2021 | |||||||
| Expenses: | ||||||||
| Formation and operating costs | $ | $ | ||||||
| Franchise taxes | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Other income | ||||||||
| Interest income | ||||||||
| Interest income on marketable securities held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Total other income | ||||||||
| Loss before income taxes | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Income tax provision | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net Loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| (1) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-4
HNR ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ (DEFICIT) EQUITY
For the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
| Additional | Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Common Stock | Paid-In | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | Capital | Deficit | (Deficit) Equity | ||||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||
| Capital contribution by Sponsor | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2021 | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of shares by Sponsor | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Private Placement Units | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Fair value of public warrants | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Offering costs allocated to public warrants | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Remeasurement of redeemable common stock to redemption value | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-5
HNR ACQUISITION CORP
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities: | ||||||||
| Net loss | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: | ||||||||
| Interest income on marketable securities held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities | ||||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | ( | ) | ||||||
| Accounts payable related parties | ||||||||
| Income tax payable | ||||||||
| Franchise tax payable | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | ||||||||
| Marketable securities held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash used in investing activities | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from Initial Public Offering, net of costs of capital | ||||||||
| Proceeds from Private Placement, net of costs of capital | ||||||||
| Capital contributions from Sponsor | ||||||||
| Payment of deferred offering costs | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Proceeds received from related party | ||||||||
| Repayment of advances from related party | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||
| Net increase in cash | ||||||||
| Cash at beginning of period | ||||||||
| Cash at end of period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of non-cash investing and financing activities: | ||||||||
| Deferred offering costs included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred offering costs paid directly by related party | $ | $ | ||||||
| Remeasurement of redemption value of redeemable common stock | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable | $ | $ | ||||||
| Expenses paid by related party | $ | |||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-6
HNR
ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTE 1 — DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Organization and General:
HNR Acquisition Corp (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on December 9, 2020. The Company is a blank check company 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 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 (the “JOBS Act”).
As of December 31, 2022, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from December 9, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2022 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering” or “IPO”) described below, and, after our Initial Public Offering, identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of the Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The Company has selected December 31 as its year end.
Sponsor and Financing:
The
registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on February 10, 2022 (the “Effective Date”). On
February 15, 2022, the Company consummated the IPO of
Transaction
costs amounted to $
The Trust Account:
Funds from the Initial Public Offering were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”). The Trust Account shall invest only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of one hundred eighty (180) days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. Funds will remain in the Trust Account until the earlier of (i) the consummation of the Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below. The remaining proceeds outside the Trust Account may be used to pay for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisitions and continuing general and administrative expenses.
The
Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that, other than the withdrawal of interest to pay taxes,
none of the funds held in the Trust Account will be released until the earlier of: (i) the completion of the Business Combination;
(ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended
and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem
F-7
Business Combination:
The
Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering,
although substantially all of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering are intended to be generally applied toward consummating
a Business Combination with (or acquisition of) a Target Business. As used herein, “Target Business” means one or more target
businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value equal to at least
The Company, after signing a definitive agreement for a Business Combination, will either (i) seek stockholder approval of the Business Combination at a meeting called for such purpose in connection with which stockholders holding common stock may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of whether they vote for or against the Business Combination, for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest but less taxes payable, or (ii) provide stockholders holding common stock with the opportunity to sell their shares to the Company by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a stockholder vote) for an amount in cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to commencement of the tender offer, including interest but less taxes payable. As a result, shares of common stock will be recorded at their redemption amount and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering, in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.”
The
decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of the Business Combination or will allow stockholders to sell their
shares in a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its 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 the Company to seek stockholder approval unless
a vote is required by law or under the NYSE American rules. If the Company seeks stockholder approval, it will complete its Business
Combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. However,
in no event will the Company redeem its public shares of common stock in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less
than $
The
Company will only have 15 months (with one additional three-month extensions available to the Company in accordance with the Company’s
amended and restated certificate of incorporation) from the closing date of the Initial Public Offering, February 15, 2022, to complete
its initial Business Combination. See Note 9 for discussion of the first extension of this time period. If the Company does not complete
a Business Combination within this period of time, it shall (i) cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up; (ii) as
promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares of common stock for a
per share pro rata portion of the Trust Account, including interest, but less taxes payable (less up to $
F-8
In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per Unit in the Initial Public Offering.
In
order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, the Sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent
any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company
has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating 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, and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The unaudited condensed financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
On
August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IR Act”) was signed into federal law. The IR Act provides for,
among other things, a new U.S. federal
Any redemption or other repurchase that occurs after December 31, 2022, in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise, may be subject to the excise tax. Whether and to what extent the Company would be subject to the excise tax in connection with a Business Combination, extension vote or otherwise would depend on a number of factors, including (i) the fair market value of the redemptions and repurchases in connection with the Business Combination, extension or otherwise, (ii) the structure of a Business Combination, (iii) the nature and amount of any “PIPE” or other equity issuances in connection with a Business Combination (or otherwise issued not in connection with a Business Combination but issued within the same taxable year of a Business Combination) and (iv) the content of regulations and other guidance from the Treasury. In addition, because the excise tax would be payable by the Company and not by the redeeming holder, the mechanics of any required payment of the excise tax have not been determined. The foregoing could cause a reduction in the cash available on hand to complete a Business Combination and in the Company’s ability to complete a Business Combination.
F-9
Going Concern Consideration
At December 31, 2022, the Company had $
NOTE 2 — SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation:
The accompanying financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company:
Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. 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.
Net Loss Per Shares of Common Stock:
Net loss per share of common stock is
computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding
during the period, excluding shares of common stock subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares for the year ended December 31,
2021 were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of
F-10
The Company’s statements of operations include a presentation of net loss per share for common stock shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted, for redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing the net income allocable to redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of redeemable common shares outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per common stock, basic and diluted, for non-redeemable common stock is calculated by dividing net income allocable to non-redeemable common stock, by the weighted average number of shares of non-redeemable common stock outstanding for the periods. Shares of non-redeemable common stock include the founder shares as these common shares do not have any redemption features and do not participate in the income earned on the Trust Account.
| Year Ended | ||||||||
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Redeemable common stock | ||||||||
| Numerator: net income (loss) allocable to redeemable common stock | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||
| Denominator: weighted average number of redeemable common stock | ||||||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||
| Non-redeemable common stock | ||||||||
| Numerator: net loss allocable to non-redeemable common stock | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||
| Denominator: weighted average number of non-redeemable common stock | ||||||||
| $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
Fair Value of Financial Instruments:
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, approximates the carrying amounts represented on the balance sheet.
The Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
| ● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| ● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| ● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value might be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety in the fair value hierarchy based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash:
Cash
and
F-11
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account:
At December 31, 2022, the assets held in the Trust Account were held in mutual funds. All of the Company’s investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheet at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of investments held in the Trust Account are included in Interest Income on marketable securities held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in Trust Account are determined using available market information.
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 $
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption:
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity”. Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to the redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock issued in the Initial Public Offering feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, the shares of common stock subject to possible redemption will be presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet upon closing of the Initial Public Offering.
At December 31, 2022, the redeemable common stock reflected on the Company’s balance sheet consisted of the following:
| Gross Proceeds | $ | |||
| Less: fair value of public warrants | ( | ) | ||
| Less: common stock issuance costs | ( | ) | ||
| Accretion to redemption value | ||||
| Redeemable common stock | $ |
Offering Costs:
Offering costs consist of legal and accounting costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. These costs, together with the underwriter discount, will be charged to additional paid in capital upon completion of the Initial Public Offering.
F-12
Income Taxes:
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB 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.
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2022 and 2021. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties at December 31, 2022 and 2021. 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.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements:
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
NOTE 3 — INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant
to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold
The
Company granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to fifteen percent (
F-13
The Warrants issued in connection with the Units that were issued upon exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option are identical to the public Warrants and have no net cash settlement provisions. The Company accounts for its Public and Private warrants as equity-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
The
Company paid an underwriting discount of five percent (
In addition, for a period of 18 months from the closing of the Business Combination offering, EF Hutton has an irrevocable right of first refusal to act as a sole investment banker, sole book-runner, and/or sole placement agent, at EF Hutton’s sole discretion, for each and every future public and private equity and debt offering, including all equity linked financings on terms and conditions customary to EF Hutton for such transactions.
NOTE 4 — RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
On
December 24, 2020, the Company issued an aggregate of
The Founder Shares are identical to the common stock previously included in the Units sold in the Initial Public Offering except that the Founder Shares are convertible under the circumstances described below and subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below.
The
Company’s initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) 180
days after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination, or earlier if, subsequent to the Company’s initial
Business Combination, the last sale price of the Company’s common stock equals or exceeds $
Private Placement Units
The Sponsor, together with such other members, if any, of the Company’s
executive management, directors, advisors or third party investors as determined by the Sponsors in its sole discretion, purchased, in
the aggregate,
F-14
If the Company does not complete a Business Combination, then the proceeds will be part of the liquidating distributions to the public stockholders and the Warrants issued to the Sponsor will expire worthless.
Related Party Loans and Costs
In
addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate
of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may
be required (“Working Capital Loans”). The Working Capital Loans may be repaid upon completion of a Business Combination,
without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $
In
December 2022, the Company received $
In addition, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor or certain of the Company’s or Sponsor’s officers and directors may provide the Company with uncompensated advisory services.
During
the three months ended March 31, 2021, a shareholder of the Sponsor advanced a total of $
In
February 2022, the Company repaid the $
Following
the IPO, effective April 14, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement with Rhone Merchant Resources Inc. (formerly known as Houston
Natural Resources Inc)., a Company controlled by our Chairman and CEO, for services related to identifying potential business combination
targets. The Company paid $
Administrative Service Agreement
The Company has agreed to pay $
F-15
Other
On
December 8, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to compensate the directors of the Company through the issuance of
shares of the Company equal in value to $
On May 1, 2022, and effective
April 6, 2022, the Company entered into a consulting agreement in the ordinary course of business with a stockholder who owns
During
the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred and paid $
NOTE 5 — STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Common Stock
At
December 31, 2022, the authorized common stock of the Company was
At
December 31, 2021, there were
On
December 8, 2021, the Board of Directors of the Company agreed to compensate the directors of the Company through the issuance of
shares of the Company equal in value to $
As of December 31, 2022, there were
F-16
On
October 17, 2022, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Common Stock Purchase Agreement”) and
a related registration rights agreement (the “White Lion RRA”) with White Lion Capital, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company
(“White Lion”). Pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company has the right, but not the obligation to require
White Lion to purchase, from time to time, up to $
Subject
to the satisfaction of certain customary conditions including, without limitation, the effectiveness of a registration statement registering
the shares issuable pursuant to the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company’s right to sell shares to White Lion will commence
on the effective date of the registration statement and extend until December 31, 2025. During such term, subject to the terms and conditions
of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company may notify White Lion when the Company exercises its right to sell shares (the effective
date of such notice, a “Notice Date”). The number of shares sold pursuant to any such notice may not exceed (i) the
lower of (a) $
The
purchase price to be paid by White Lion for any such shares will equal
The Company will have the right to terminate the Common Stock Purchase Agreement at any time after Commencement, at no cost or penalty, upon three trading days’ prior written notice. Additionally, White Lion will have the right to terminate the Common Stock Purchase Agreement upon three days’ prior written notice to the Company if (i) there is a Fundamental Transaction, (ii) the Company is in breach or default in any material respect of the White Lion RRA, (iii) there is a lapse of the effectiveness, or unavailability of, the Registration Statement for a period of 45 consecutive trading days or for more than an aggregate of 90 trading days in any 365-day period, (iv) the suspension of trading of the Common Stock for a period of five consecutive trading days, (v) the material breach of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement by the Company, which breach is not cured within the applicable cure period or (vi) a Material Adverse Effect has occurred and is continuing. No termination of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement will affect the registration rights provisions contained in the White Lion RRA.
In
consideration for the commitments of White Lion, as described above, the Company has agreed that it will issue to White Lion shares of
Common Stock having a value of $
Registration Rights Agreement (White Lion)
Concurrently with the execution of the Common Stock Purchase Agreement, the Company entered into the White Lion RRA with the White Lion in which the Company has agreed to register the shares of Common Stock purchased by White Lion with the SEC for resale within 30 days of the consummation of a business combination. The White Lion RRA also contains usual and customary damages provisions for failure to file and failure to have the registration statement declared effective by the SEC within the time periods specified.
The Common Stock Purchase Agreement and the White Lion RRA contain customary representations, warranties, conditions and indemnification obligations of the parties. The representations, warranties and covenants contained in such agreements were made only for purposes of such agreements and as of specific dates, were solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreements and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties.
F-17
NOTE 6 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Underwriting Agreement
The
underwriters were entitled to a cash underwriting discount of $
Registration Rights Agreement (Founder Shares)
The
holders of the Founder Shares and the Private Placement Units and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital
loans (and any shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Units or warrants issued upon conversion
of the working capital loans) will be entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement to be signed on or
before the date of the prospectus for the Initial Public Offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands
in the case of the founder shares, excluding short form registration demands, and one demand in the case of the private placement warrants,
the working capital loan warrants and, in each case, the underlying shares that the Company register such securities for sale under the
Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other
registration statements filed by the Company.
Other agreements
On September 30, 2022, the Company entered into an agreement with a consultant for services related to securing additional financing for potential future acquisitions for a period of one year. In connection with this agreement, the consultant may receive a finders fee from any financing that is secured by the Company from a referral by the consultant.
NOTE 7 – PROPOSED BUSINESS COMBINATION
On December 27, 2022, the Company, entered into a membership interest purchase agreement (the “MIPA”) with CIC Pogo LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“CIC”), DenCo Resources, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“DenCo”), Pogo Resources Management, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Pogo Management”), 4400 Holdings, LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“4400” and, together with CIC, DenCo and Pogo Management, collectively, “Seller” and each a “Seller”), and, solely with respect to Section 7.20 of the MIPA, HNRAC Sponsors LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Sponsor”).
The Purchase
Pursuant
to the MIPA, at the closing of the transactions contemplated by the MIPA the Company will purchase and from Seller
The
purchase price for the Target will be (a) cash in the amount of $
F-18
NOTE 8 — INCOME TAXES
As of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
| Deferred tax asset: | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||
| Federal net operating loss | $ | — | $ | |||||
| Start-up costs | — | |||||||
| Total deferred tax asset | ||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Deferred tax asset, net of allowance | $ | $ | ||||||
The income tax provision consists of the following:
| For the year ending | For the year ending | |||||||
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Federal: | ||||||||
| Current | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| State: | ||||||||
| Current | ||||||||
| Deferred | ||||||||
| Change in Valuation allowance | ||||||||
| Income tax provision | $ | $ | ||||||
As
of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2022, the Company had $
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance.
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate at December 31, 2022 and 2021 is as follows:
| For the period from February 18, 2021 | ||||||||
| For the year | (inception) through | |||||||
| December 31, 2022 | December 31, 2021 | |||||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate | % | % | ||||||
| Transaction costs | ( | )% | - | % | ||||
| Change in valuation allowance | ( | )% | ( | )% | ||||
| Income tax provision | ( | )% | % | |||||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and is subject to examination by the various taxing authorities. The Company’s tax returns since inception remain open to examination by the taxing authorities.
F-19
NOTE 9 — SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the unaudited condensed financial statements were issued. The Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the unaudited condensed financial statements.
On January 20, 2023, the Company entered into
a promissory note and warrant purchase agreement for working capital purposes with a stockholder who owns
In
connection with this promissory note, the holder received
On January 20, 2023, the Company entered into
a promissory note and warrant purchase agreement for working capital purposes with member of the Board of the Directors of the Company
in the amount of $
In
connection with this promissory note, the holder received
On February 5, 2023, the Company received notice
from the Sponsor of its intention to extend the Combination period by three months until May 15, 2023. On February 8, 2023 in accordance
with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, the Sponsor’s designee deposited $
F-20
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14 AND 15d-14
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED
I, Donald H. Goree, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) for the year ended December 31, 2022 of HNR Acquisition Corp.; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this Report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this Report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this Report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this Report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and have: |
| a. | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this Amendment is being prepared; |
| b. | [Paragraph intentionally omitted in accordance with SEC Release Nos. 34-47986 and 34-54942]; |
| c. | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this Report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this Report based on such evaluation; and |
| d. | Disclosed in this Report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a. | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b. | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal controls over financial reporting. |
| Date: March 31, 2023 | By: | /s/ Donald H. Goree |
| Donald H. Goree | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. 1350
(SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002)
In connection with the Annual Report of HNR Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Donald H. Goree, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that, to the best of my knowledge:
| (1) | the Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| (2) | the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company. |
Date: March 31, 2023
| /s/ Donald H. Goree | ||
| Name: | Donald H. Goree | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |