Holley Inc 10-K/A, filed Feb 4, 2022
Holley Inc. (HLLY)
10-K/A
2022-02-04
For: 2020-12-31
View Original
Added on
April 11, 2026
About this 10-K/A
Holley Inc filed this 10-K/A on February 4, 2022, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K/A
(Amendment No. 2)
(Mark One)
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2020
OR
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-39599
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) | |
(270 ) 495-4801 Registrant’s telephone number, including area code
Empower LTD.
c/o MidOcean Partners
245 Park Avenue, 38th Floor
New York, NY 10167
(Former name or former address of principal executive offices)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered | ||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
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 ☐ No ☒
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. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation Yes ☒ No ☐
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 the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer |
☐ |
Accelerated filer |
☐ | |||
☒ |
Smaller reporting company |
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Emerging growth company |
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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in ☒ No ☐
Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act). Yes The Registrant was not a public company at June 30, 2020, the last business day of the Registrant’s second fiscal quarter for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and therefore it cannot calculate the aggregate market value of its voting and 250,250,000.00 . As of March 5, 2021, there were 25,000,000 shares of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, and 6,250,000 shares of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001, issued and outstanding.
non-voting
common equity held by non-affiliates
at such date. The Registrant’s units began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 9, 2020 and the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares began separate trading on November 27, 2020. The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A ordinary shares outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the Registrant, at December 31, 2020 was approximately $Documents Incorporated by Reference: None.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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i
Certain Terms
Unless otherwise stated in this Annual Report or the context otherwise requires, references to:
• |
“amended and restated memorandum and articles of association” are to the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that the Company adopted prior to the consummation of the Initial Public Offering; |
• |
“Companies Law” are to the Companies Law (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
• |
“directors” are to our directors; |
• |
“forward purchase agreement” is to the agreement providing for the sale of forward purchase units to the forward purchase investors in a private placement that will close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination, subject to approval at such time by the MidOcean investment committee; |
• |
“forward purchase investors” are Empower Funding and any assignees of Empower Funding under Empower Funding’s forward purchase agreement; |
• |
“forward purchase securities” are to the forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants; |
• |
“forward purchase shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares included in the forward purchase units; |
• |
“forward purchase units” are to the units to be issued to the forward purchase investors pursuant to the forward purchase agreement; |
• |
“forward purchase warrants” are to the warrants to purchase our Class A ordinary shares included in the forward purchase units; |
• |
“Founders” are to Matthew Rubel and Graham Clempson; |
• |
“founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement prior to the Initial Public Offering and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”); |
• |
“management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
• |
“MidOcean” are to MidOcean Partners, an affiliate of our sponsor; |
• |
“ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares; |
• |
“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering and upon conversion of working capital loans, if any; |
• |
“public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units the Initial Public Offering (whether they are purchased in the Initial Public Offering or thereafter in the open market); |
• |
“public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor’s and each member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
• |
“sponsor” are to Empower Sponsor Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; and |
• |
“we,” “us,” “our,” “company” or “our company” are to Empower Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
Any forfeiture of shares described in this Annual Report will take effect as a surrender of shares for no consideration of such shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any conversion of the Class B ordinary shares described in this Annual Report will take effect as a compulsory redemption of Class B ordinary shares and an issuance of Class A ordinary shares as a matter of Cayman Islands law. Any share dividends described in this Annual Report will take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
ii
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Holley Inc. (the “Company,” “we”, “our” or “us”) formerly known as Empower Ltd. prior to the consummation of the previously announced business combination on July 16, 2021 (the “Business Combination”) pursuant to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger dated March 11, 2021, by and among Empower Ltd., Empower Merger Sub I Inc., Empower Merger Sub II LLC, and Holley Intermediate Holdings, Inc. (“Holley Intermediate”), is filing this Amendment No. 2 to its Annual Report on Form
10-K/A
(this “Amendment No. 2”), to amend and restate certain items of its Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2020, originally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on March 8, 2021 (the “Original Filing”), amended on May 18, 2021 (“Amendment No. 1”). We are also restating the financial statement as of October 9, 2020 in the accompanying financial statements included in this Annual Report (collectively, the “Original Financial Statements”). Restatement Background
The Company’s management, in consultation with its advisors, identified an error made in certain of its previously issued financial statements, arising from the manner in which, as of the closing of the Company’s initial public offering, the Company valued its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. The Company previously determined the value of such Class A ordinary shares to be equal to the redemption value of such shares of Class A ordinary shares, after taking into consideration the terms of the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, under which a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001. Management has now determined, after consultation with its advisors, that the shares of Class A ordinary shares underlying the units issued during the initial public offering can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered to be outside the Company’s control. Therefore, management has concluded that the redemption value of its shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption should reflect the possible redemption of all shares of Class A ordinary shares. As a result, management has noted a reclassification error related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This has resulted in a restatement of the initial carrying value of the shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, with the offset recorded to additional
paid-in
capital (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and shares of Class A ordinary shares.As a result, on December 14, 2021, management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors concluded that the Original Financial Statements should no longer be relied upon and are to be restated in order to correct the classification error.
The Company has not amended its Current Report on
Form 8-K
filed on October 16, 2020 for the period affected by the restatement. The financial information that has been previously filed or otherwise reported is superseded by the information in this Amendment, and the financial statements and related financial information contained in such previously filed report should no longer be relied upon. The restatement is more fully described in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements included herein. In addition, Part I, Item 1A Risk Factors, Part II, Item 7 Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, Part II, Item 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data and Part II, Item 9A Controls and Procedures have been updated to detail further disclosure of the effects and actions taken by management and the Board of Directors.
In addition, as required by
Rule 12b-15
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, new certifications by the Company’s principal executive officers and principal financial officer are filed as exhibits (in Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1, and 32.2) to this Amendment under Item 15 of Part IV hereof. Except as described above, this Amendment does not amend, update or change any other items or disclosures contained in the Original Filing, and accordingly, this Amendment does not reflect or purport to reflect any information or events occurring after the original filing date or modify or update those disclosures affected by subsequent events. Accordingly, this Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Original Filing and the Company’s other filings with the SEC. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the Original Filing.
Internal Control Considerations
In connection with the restatement, management has
re-evaluated
the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s management has concluded that, in light of the errors described above, and the filing of the Form 10-K/A,
Amendment No. 1 and Amendment No. 2 to the December 31, 2020 Form 10-K,
a material weakness existed in internal control over financial reporting at Empower Ltd. prior to the Business Combination and disclosure controls and procedures were not effective. For a discussion of management’s consideration of our disclosure controls and procedures, internal controls over financial reporting, and the material weaknesses identified, see Part I, Item 4, “Controls and Procedures” of this Form 10-K/A
Amendment No. 2. iii
Items Amended In This Amendment
For the convenience of the reader, this Amendment No, 2 sets forth the Original Filing in its entirety, as amended to reflect the restatement. No attempt has been made in this Form
10-K/A
to update other disclosures presented in the Original Filing, except as required to reflect the effects of the restatement. The following items have been amended as a result of the restatement: • |
Part I – Item 1A. Risk Factors. |
• |
Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. |
• |
Part II – Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data. |
• |
Part II – Item 9A. Controls and Procedures. |
• |
Part IV – Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules. |
This Amendment does not reflect adjustments for events occurring after March 8, 2021, the date of the filing of the Original Filing, except to the extent they are otherwise required to be included and discussed herein and did not substantively modify or update the disclosures herein other than as required to reflect the adjustments described above. This Amendment should be read in conjunction with the Company’s Current Reports on
Form 8-K
filed with the SEC since the date of filing of the Original Filing and all of the Company’s filings after the date hereof. The Company is also filing currently dated certifications from our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer as Exhibits 31.1, 31.2, 32.1 and 32.2 to this Amendment.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this Annual Report on Form
10-K/A
may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “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 Annual Report may include, for example, statements about: • |
our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
• |
our expectations around the performance of a 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; |
• |
the proceeds of the forward purchase units being available to us; |
• |
our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
• |
our pool of prospective target businesses; |
• |
our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic; |
• |
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
• |
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
• |
the lack of a market for our securities; |
• |
expectations regarding the time during which we will be an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”); |
• |
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 |
iv
• |
our financial performance. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) 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 “.” 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.
Risk Factors
v
PART I
Item 1. Business
General
We are a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company” or “Empower”) for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities (the “initial business combination”). We have reviewed a number of opportunities to enter into an initial business combination with an operating business, but we are not able to determine at this time whether we will complete an initial business combination with any of the target businesses that we have reviewed or with any other target business. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of the initial business combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Company’s initial public offering (the “Initial Public Offering”). The registration statement for the Initial Public Offering became effective on October 6, 2020. On October 9, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 25,000,000 units (the “units”) at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 4,666,667 warrants (the “private placement warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant in a private placement to Empower Sponsor Holdings LLC (the “sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $7,000,000.
A total of $250,000,000, consisting of $245,000,000 of net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering (which amount includes $8,750,000 in the form of deferred underwriting commissions) and $5,000,000 of proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, was placed in a U.S.-based trust account with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee.
Our units began trading on October 9, 2020 on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol EMPW.” On November 27, 2020, we announced that the holders of the Company’s units may elect to separately trade the Class A ordinary shares and warrants included in the units. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share
and one-third of
one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Any units not separated will continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “EMPW.U”. Any underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that are separated will trade on NYSE under the symbols “EMPW” and “EMPW WS,” respectively. Business Strategy
The broader consumer sector, inclusive of the overall shopping and purchasing journey as well as products, services and experiences, has undergone unprecedented changes. In this evolving landscape, the opportunity to foster and build companies that address these shifting consumer preferences and utilize platforms most relevant to these new consumers requires speed, agility and a clear focus on engaging, inspiring and commercially connecting with the customer. These substantial demographic, social, economic and behavioral shifts at the consumer level have resulted in a confluence of opportunities unlike anything seen in recent decades.
Our focus will be to acquire a consumer business that has a track record of proven financial performance, differentiation in its brand and offering, and a loyal customer base, yet would benefit from our operational expertise, networks, experienced team and capital to further enhance performance and drive continued growth. In addition to economic upside and market opportunities, proven leadership and access to capital, we believe that core values, transparency, social impact and relevance to today’s evolving communities and consumer groups is equally paramount.
We intend to capitalize on several macro-level themes that are reshaping consumer behavior and how consumer businesses attain success in the new market reality:
| • | How brands are built and what is expected of them is changing: traditional notions of branding and status have evolved to include purpose and a sense of community, the use of business as a powerful force for good, and sustainability. |
| • | Products, services and experiences are being evolved and co-created in a manner requiring dramatic shifts in businesses’ approaches to innovation and development. |
| • | The consumer journey is more multi-faceted than ever: speed, agility and relentless focus, paired with exceptional products, services, experiences, innovation and branding are necessary to drive customer acquisition, assessment, engagement, purchase intent and, ultimately, retention. |
| • | Channels, traffic patterns and go-to-market |
1
| • | Digital acumen is a requirement for success: acceleration of digital engagement will create a path for more intimate connections with consumers, communities and the ability to provide both personalization and convenience. |
| • | The shift towards healthy, active and sustainable lifestyles is permanent: a holistic approach to health, wellness and hygiene will continue to garner greater share of the consumer wallet. |
| • | Operational excellence is a strategic weapon: agility to shift supply chains and operational execution will be enabled via a well-organized infrastructure that matches consumer demand requirements and functions in lockstep with the front-end of the business. Infrastructure and an ability to execute flawlessly are critical tools. |
| • | “Global” now also means “local”: the ability to support market localization, from consumer engagement to supply chain, is an opportunity across all categories. |
As lifelong operators and investors, we have the proven capabilities, capital and insights to navigate the new market realities, find companies that will offer consistent long-term economic performance and help pivot them in ways that prepare them for their next chapter of growth.
Sources of Target Business
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since some of these sources will have read this Annual Report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. While we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers, or their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, we may pay any of our existing directors who are not also officers, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, to the extent such payment is in compliance with all laws and is consistent with independent director requirements. Such payment may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-business combination company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, Founders, 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 Founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Acquisition Criteria
We will target business combination opportunities that align with our strategic insights, focus, capabilities and network. Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
2
We intend to seek candidates with an enterprise value of at least $750 million, and we intend to seek to acquire companies that encompass one or more of the following characteristics:
| • | Strong core business with a competitive market position |
| • | Attractive financial profile |
| • | Proven management team |
| • | Strong corporate culture |
| • | Opportunity for operational improvement |
| • | Platform for organic and potentially inorganic growth |
| • | Will benefit from being a public company |
| • | Appropriate valuation |
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 sponsors and management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Annual Report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Although we intend to focus on identifying business combination candidates in the consumer products, services, retail and related industries, we will consider a business combination candidate outside of these industries if we determine that such candidate offers an attractive opportunity for our company.
Initial Business Combination
So long as our securities are listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with a target business that has an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. If our board is not able to determine the fair market value of the target business independently, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will be unable to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business, it may be unable to do so if: (1) our board is less familiar or inexperienced with the target company’s business, (2) there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the Company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or (3) if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills, and our board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but
3
we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net asset test.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination
Acquisition Process
In evaluating a potential target business, we expect to conduct a comprehensive due diligence review to seek to determine a company’s quality and its intrinsic value. That due diligence review may include, among other things, financial statement analysis, detailed document reviews, multiple meetings with management, consultations with relevant industry experts, competitors, customers and suppliers, as well as a review of additional information that we will seek to obtain as part of our analysis of a target company.
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 an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Members of our and MidOcean Partners’ (“MidOcean”) management teams, including our officers and directors, directly or indirectly own our securities following the Initial Public Offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target company is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors, as well as our and MidOcean’s management teams, may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers, directors, and management team members was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to such business combination.
Each of our directors, director nominees and officers 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 that 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 initial business combination.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
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Our Founders, sponsor, officers, and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. However, we do not currently expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, our Founders, sponsor, officers, and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Redemption Rights for Public Shareholders upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account was initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share
amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (the “Extension Period”) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association 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 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, 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 Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights
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if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we have only 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering to consummate an initial business combination. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame).
Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. 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 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or director nominee, or any other person. Corporate Information
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies Law. As an exempted company, we have applied for and received a tax exemption undertaking from the Cayman Islands government that, in accordance with Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, for a period of 20 years from the date of the undertaking, no law that is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
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Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Facilities
We currently maintain our executive offices at 245 Park Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10167. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
non-binding
advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile. 7
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of the Initial Public Offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value, the volume weighted average trading price of its Class A ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company consummates its initial business combination (such price, the “market value”), of our Class A ordinary shares that are held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible
debt securities during the prior three-year period. Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. We maintain a corporate website at . The information that may be contained on or accessible through our corporate website or any other website that we may maintain is not incorporated by reference in, or otherwise a part of, this report.
www.empowermidocean.com
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 Annual Report on Form
10-K/A,
before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. 8
SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The following is a summary of the principal factors that make an investment in our securities speculative or risky, all of which are more fully described below in the section titled “Risk Factors.” This summary should be read in conjunction with the “Risk Factors” section and should not be relied upon as an exhaustive summary of the material risks facing our business. In addition to the following summary, you should consider the information set forth in the “Risk Factors” section and the other information contained in this Annual Report before investing in our securities.
| • | We are a recently incorporated company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| • | Past performance by our management team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| • | Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| • | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
| • | The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target. |
| • | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
| • | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares. |
| • | The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
| • | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate. |
| • | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. |
| • | If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
| • | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| • | The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions. |
| • | Our security holders are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
| • | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. |
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| • | If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 12 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination. |
| • | Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment. |
| • | If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share. |
| • | The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share. |
| • | After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in any such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate. |
| • | Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited. |
| • | Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management. |
| • | Warrants and the forward purchase agreement are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our Warrants and forward purchase agreement could have a material effect on our financial results. |
| • | Potential for litigation or other disputes may arise from the restatement our financial statements and identification of a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. |
Risks Related to Our Business and Financial Position
We are a recently incorporated 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 recently incorporated company, incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 12 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and 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 the 12 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. However, our affiliates are not obligated to make loans to us in the future, and we may not be able to raise additional financing from unaffiliated parties necessary to fund our expenses. Any such event in the future may negatively impact the analysis regarding our ability to continue as a going concern at such time. We believe that, as of December 31, 2020, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 12 months following the closing of the Initial Public Offering; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate, and our sponsor, its affiliates or members of
10
our management team are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Of the funds available to us, we expect to 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 or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent 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. Of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only $1,080,629 is available to us as of December 31, 2020 outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that such amount is insufficient to fund our search for a target business and to consummate an initial business combination we may seek additional capital. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, its affiliates, members of our management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor their affiliates is under any obligation to us in such circumstances. Any such advances may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive an estimated $10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See ” and other risk factors herein.
“— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public sharePast performance by our management team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us.
Information regarding performance is presented for informational purposes only. Any past experience or performance of our management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (i) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (ii) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their respective affiliates as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. Our management has no experience in operating special purpose acquisition companies.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or
key-man
insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to their other business activities, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. In addition, we do not have employment agreements with, or
key-man
insurance on the life of, any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us. 11
The role of our key personnel after our initial business combination, however, remains to be determined. Although some of our key personnel serve in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that most, if not all, of the management of the target business will remain in place. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. Our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, which is described herein under the section entitled “.”
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence — Registration and Shareholder Rights
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. 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 “.”
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
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Our warrants and the forward purchase agreement are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants and the forward purchase agreement could have a material effect on our financial results.
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the SEC together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. As a result of the SEC Statement, we reevaluated the accounting treatment of our public warrants, our private placement warrants and the forward purchase agreement, and determined to classify the warrants and the forward purchase agreement as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings.
As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 contained elsewhere in this Annual Report are derivative liabilities related to our warrants and the forward purchase agreement. Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”), provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting
non-cash
gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations in the period of change. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, which are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash
gains or losses on our warrants and forward purchase agreement each reporting period until exercised and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
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 in 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.
As described elsewhere in this Annual Report, we identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting related to Empower Ltd.’s accounting and reporting of complex financial instruments, including application of ASC to the Company’s accounting classification of public shares. As a result of these material weaknesses, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2020. These material weaknesses resulted in a material misstatement of our warrant liabilities, change in fair value of warrant
480-10-S99-3A
liabilities, additional paid-in capital, accumulated
deficit, net income, earnings per share and related financial disclosures.Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. 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 common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, there could result a material adverse effect on our business. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock.
on Form S-3 or Form S-4, which
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.
We, and following our proposed initial business combination, the post-business combination company, may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting.
Following the issuance of the SEC Statement, after consultation with our independent registered public accounting firm, our management and our audit committee concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued audited financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. See section entitled “—Our warrants and the forward purchase agreement are accounted for as liabilities and the changes in value of our warrants and the forward purchase agreement could have a material effect on our financial results.” As part of the restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting.
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As a result of such material weakness, the restatement, the change in accounting for the warrants and forward purchase agreement, and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes which may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the restatement and material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this Annual Report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a business combination.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, 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 or entities. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
In addition, our Founders, sponsor, officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any Founder, director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
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 “” and “.”
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions, and Director Independence
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. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. Additionally, Empower Funding is an affiliate of our sponsor.
The personal and financial interests of our directors and officers may influence their motivation in timely identifying and selecting a target business and completing a business combination. Consequently, our directors’ and officers’ discretion in identifying and selecting a suitable target business may result in a conflict of interest when determining whether the terms, conditions and timing of a particular business combination are appropriate and in our shareholders’ best interest.
Risks Related to Our Proposed Initial Business Combination
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would typically not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their
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shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
You will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our sponsor owns, on an
as-converted
basis, 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the Initial Public Offering. Our sponsor and members of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting. As a result, in addition to our sponsor’s founder shares, we would need 9,375,001, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 1,562,501, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 25,000,000 public shares sold in the Initial Public Offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and each member of our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
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 shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. 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 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an 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 shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The
per-share
amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions. 15
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the time frame described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus
(COVID-19)
outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19)
a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19,
and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic”. The pandemic, together with resulting voluntary and U.S. federal and state and non-U.S.
governmental actions, including, without limitation, mandatory business closures, public gathering limitations, restrictions on travel and quarantines, has meaningfully disrupted the global economy and markets. Although the long-term economic fallout of COVID-19
is difficult to predict, it has and is expected to continue to have ongoing material adverse effects across many, if not all, aspects of the regional, national and global economy. The COVID-19
outbreak has and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19
continues to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19
impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19
and the actions to contain COVID-19
or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19
or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected. In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by
COVID-19
and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering, 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 may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of the Initial Public Offering. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of
COVID-19
continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future 16
developments, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of ” and other risk factors herein.
COVID-19
may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within such applicable 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 earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public shareIf we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although, other than the Empower Funding forward purchase agreement, they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources 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 the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. See “— ” and other risk factors herein.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public shareSubsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off
assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash
items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing
debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
18
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of 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 units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in the Initial Public Offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this Annual Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
19
We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
one-to-one
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. At March 5, 2021, there were 475,000,000 and 4,375,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any, or any shares issued upon the sale of the forward purchase shares or upon the exercise of the forward purchase warrants. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions as set forth herein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares, including the issuance of the forward purchase securities:
one-to-one
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in the Initial Public Offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
| • | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our sponsor will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which our sponsor will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to the initial business combination.
as-converted
basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding the forward purchase securities and any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any members of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
The investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments requires 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 have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes.
Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
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 or directors 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 or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “.”
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Our Founders, sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our Founders, sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities.
Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for an initial business combination and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
21
Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire during or the Initial Public Offering), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On August 21, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our offering and formation costs in consideration of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (937,500 of which was forfeited by our sponsor in connection with the Initial Public Offering). Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The
per-share
price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the Company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($7,000,000 in the aggregate), in a private placement that closed simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering. If we do not consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month
anniversary of the closing of the Initial Public Offering nears, which is generally the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination. We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the
per-share
amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including: | • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase 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.
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single-target business or multiple-target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry.
Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business 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-business combination company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the Company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
23
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, 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 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least
two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the forward purchase warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the forward purchase warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding forward purchase warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of the securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. 24
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least
two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support. Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the Company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the Company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, meaning holders of at least
two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds
of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares. Our sponsor owns, on an as-converted
basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association which govern our pre-business
combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete a business combination with which you do not agree. Our shareholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors and director nominees have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers, directors or director nominees for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law. We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the forward purchase units will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and forward purchase units prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders 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. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. 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. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. Other than in connection with the Empower Funding forward purchase agreement, none of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
25
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| • | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| • | longer payment cycles; |
| • | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| • | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| • | rates of inflation; |
| • | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| • | corruption; |
| • | protection of intellectual property; |
| • | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| • | regime changes and political upheaval; |
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| • | terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; and |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the Company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in any such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a
non-U.S.
target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction. We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
We are subject to changing law and regulations regarding regulatory matters, corporate governance and public disclosure that have increased both our costs and the risk of
non-compliance.
We are subject to rules and regulations by various governing bodies, including, for example, the SEC, which are charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, and to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations have resulted in and are likely to continue to result in, increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management time and attention from seeking a business combination target.
27
Moreover, because these laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance becomes available. This evolution may result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and additional costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to our disclosure and governance practices. If we fail to address and comply with these regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
If we effect an initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws applicable to such company will likely govern all of our material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
If we effect an initial business combination with a company located outside of the United States, the laws of the country in which such company operates will likely govern almost all of the material agreements relating to its operations. We cannot assure you that the target business will be able to enforce any of its material agreements or that remedies will be available in this new jurisdiction. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Securities
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
The NYSE 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 cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels, such as a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our total market capitalization would be required to be at least $200.0 million, the aggregate market value of publicly held shares would be required to be at least $100.0 million and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot shareholders. We may not be able to meet those listing requirements at that time, especially if there are a significant number of redemptions in connection with our initial business combination.
If the NYSE 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 market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
over-the-counter
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
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| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Our Class A ordinary shares and warrants qualify as covered securities under the statute because they are listed on the NYSE. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
Our security holders are not entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 as a result of the completion of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and filed a Current Report on Form
8-K,
including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors are not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units were immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if the 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. If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in the Initial Public Offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.
Holders of Class
A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment of directors we hold prior to our initial business combination
.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
29
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
The grant of registration rights to our sponsor and the forward purchase investors may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into on October 6, 2020, prior to the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, we agree that we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to (i) within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination, file a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase warrants and (c) any other Class A ordinary shares acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquired after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 90 days after the closing of the initial business combination and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and to ensure the registration statement does not contain a material omission or misstatement, including by way of amendment or other update, as required, until the earlier of (A) the date on which a forward purchase investor ceases to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreement. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our securities that is expected when the securities owned by our sponsor or its permitted transferees are registered for resale.
We have not registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We have not registered the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that, as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). 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 is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold. In
30
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 and no exemption is available. 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 Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in the Initial Public Offering. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. 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 Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
Our sponsor controls a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our sponsor owns, on an .” Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and to remove directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, the founder shares, all of which are held by our sponsor, will, in a vote to transfer the Company by way of continuation out of the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction (which requires the approval of at least two thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares), entitle the holders to ten votes for every founder share. This provision of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least
as-converted
basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, it may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our sponsor purchases any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase its control. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities other the forward purchase agreement further described herein under the section entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence — Forward Purchase Agreement
two-thirds
of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants were issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correcting any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement s, or defective provision (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. 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, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the forward purchase warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the forward purchase warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding forward purchase warrants. 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, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
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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: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This 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.
choice-of-forum
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30
trading-day
period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30
trading-day
period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants. 32
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
In connection with our Initial Public Offer, we issued warrants to purchase 8,333,333 of our Class A ordinary shares, we issued in a private placement an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. We also plan to issue 1,666,667 forward purchase warrants pursuant to the forward purchase agreement. In addition, if our sponsor, its affiliates or a member of our management team makes any working capital loans, it may convert up to $2,000,000 of such loans into up to an additional 666,667 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redemption of our warrants.
To the extent we issue ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains
one-third
of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies. Each unit contains
one-third
of one redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole units will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third
of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if a unit included a warrant to purchase one whole share. A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities, excluding the forward purchase 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 ordinary share, (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by the Company’s board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to the sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by the sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “newly issued price”), (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the market value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the market value and the newly issued price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price ‘will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the market value and the newly issued price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
A market for our securities may not fully develop or be sustained, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the
COVID-19
outbreak. An active trading market for our securities may not fully develop or be sustained. Additionally, if our securities become delisted from the NYSE for any reason, and are quoted on the OTC Pink Sheets, an inter-dealer automated quotation system for equity securities not listed on a national exchange, the liquidity and price of our securities may be more limited than if we were listed on the NYSE or another national exchange. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be fully developed and sustained. Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
33
Our corporate affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law (as the same may be supplemented or amended from time to time) and the common law of the Cayman Islands. We are also subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States.
We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Provisions in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A ordinary shares and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that shareholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered board of directors, the ability of the board of directors to designate the terms of and issue new series of preference shares, and the fact that prior to the completion of our initial business combination only holders of our Class B ordinary shares, which have been issued to our sponsor, are entitled to vote on the appointment of directors, which may make more difficult the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Since only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our founder shares have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, the NYSE may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of the NYSE corporate governance standards. Under the NYSE corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| • | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of the NYSE; |
| • | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| • | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of the NYSE, subject to applicable
phase-in
rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of the NYSE corporate governance requirements. 34
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of $18,292.68 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
Risks Related to Our Trust Account
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share. Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third-party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the
per-share
redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement entered into with our sponsor, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third-party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
35
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay income taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their
pro-rata
share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $250,000,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share. Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per public share.
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
36
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. General Risk Factors
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including: |
| • | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business 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 principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
37
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a beneficial owner of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes (i) an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia or (iii) an estate or trust the income of which is includible in gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes regardless of its source or (iv) a trust if (A) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (B) it has in effect a valid election to be treated as a U.S. person (a “U.S. holder”), such U.S. holder may be subject to certain adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC
start-up
exception, depending on the particular circumstances, the application of the start-up
exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there can be no assurance that we will qualify for the start-up
exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for any taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year. Moreover, if we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. holder such information as the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) may require, including a PFIC annual information statement, in order to enable the U.S. holder to make and maintain a “qualified electing fund” election, but there can be no assurance that we will timely provide such required information, and such election would likely be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. holders to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules to holders of our ordinary shares and warrants. We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation
S-K.
Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible. 38
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition. Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.
We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
Our executive offices are located at c/o MidOcean Partners 245 Park Avenue, 38th Floor New York, NY 10167, and our telephone number is (212)
497-1400.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
We are not a party to and none of our property is subject to any material pending legal proceedings.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
39
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are traded on the NYSE under the symbols “EMPW.U”, “EMPW” and “EMPW WS”, respectively. Our units, commenced public trading on October 9, 2020 and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants began separate trading on November 27, 2020.
Holders
As of February 24, 2021, the Depository Trust Company was the only holder of record for our units, Class A common stock, and public warrants. Sponsor is the sole holder of record of our founder shares and private placement warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings
Unregistered Sales
On August 21, 2020, our sponsor purchased 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate price of $25,000. Our sponsor agreed to forfeit up to 937,500 founder shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. The forfeiture was to be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters so that the founder shares would represent 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares after our Initial Public Offering. The underwriters declined to exercise their
45-day
over-allotment option in connection with our Initial Public Offering; thus, the 937,500 founder shares were forfeited by our sponsor. On October 9, 2020, we consummated our Initial Public Offering of 25,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating total gross proceeds of $250,000,000. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Jefferies LLC acted as the book-running managers. The securities sold in the offering were registered under the Securities Act on registration statements on Form
S-1
(No. 333-248899).
The registration statements became effective on October 6, 2020 and registered the sale of a maximum of 28,750,000 units. Additionally, we granted the underwriters in the Initial Public Offering a 45-day
option from October 6, 2020 to purchase up to 3,750,000 additional units. Simultaneously with the consummation of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated a private placement of 4,666,667 private placement warrants to our sponsor at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating total proceeds of $7,000,000. Such securities were issued pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants underlying the units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the private placement warrants are not transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions.
Of the gross proceeds received from the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $250,000,000 (consisting of $245,000,000 of net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering, which amount includes $8,750,000 in the form of deferred underwriting commissions, and $5,000,000 of proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants) was placed in the trust account.
40
Use of Proceeds
On October 9, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 25,000,000 units, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 4,666,667 private placement warrants to the sponsor at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant generating gross proceeds of $7,000,000. Following the Initial Public Offering, and the sale of the private placement warrants, a total of $250,000,000 was placed in the trust account, and we had $1,122,742 of cash held outside of the trust account, after payment of costs related to the Initial Public Offering, and available for working capital purposes. We incurred $14,215,163 in transaction costs, including $5,000,000 of underwriting fees, $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $465,163 of other costs.
We paid a total of $5,000,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $465,163 for other costs and expenses related to the Initial Public Offering. In addition, the underwriters agreed to defer $8,750,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions. The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete our initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
As a “smaller reporting company,” we are not required to provide the information called for by this Item.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
References in this Annual Report on Form
10-K/A
to “we,” “us,” “our” or the “Company” refer to Empower Ltd. References to our “management” or our “management team” refer to our officers and directors, and references to the “sponsor” refer to Empower Sponsor Holdings LLC. The following discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and the notes related thereto which are included in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A.
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in the Cayman Islands on August 19, 2020 formed for the purpose of effecting our initial business combination We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash derived from the proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our shares, debt or a combination of cash, shares and debt.
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.
Restatements and Revision of Previously Issued Financial Statements
This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations has been amended and restated to give effect to the restatement of our financial statements as of December 31, 2020. Management identified errors made in its historical financial statements where, at the closing of our Initial Public Offering, we improperly valued our ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. We previously determined the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to be equal to the redemption value of $10.00 per ordinary share while also taking into consideration a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001. Management determined that the ordinary shares issued during the Initial Public Offering can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered outside of the Company’s control. Therefore, management concluded that the redemption value should include all ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, resulting in the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption being equal to their redemption value. As a result, management has noted a reclassification error related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This resulted in a restatement to the initial carrying value of the ordinary shares subject to possible redemption with the offset recorded to additional
paid-in
capital (to the extent available), accumulated deficit and ordinary shares. As a result of the restatement described in Note 2 – Amendment No. 1 of the notes to the financial statements included herein, we classify the warrants issued in connection with our Initial Public Offering and the forward purchase agreement as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the warrant instrument and the forward purchase agreement to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to
re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. 41
Results of Operations
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any operating revenues to date. Our only activities from inception through December 31, 2020 were organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for the Initial Public Offering, described below and looking for a business combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our initial business combination. We expect to generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income on marketable securities held after the Initial Public Offering. We expect that we will incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses in connection with searching for, and completing, our initial business combination. For the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $4,443,894, which consisted of formation and operating costs of $273,915, change in fair value of warrant liability of $1,690,000, loss on forward purchase agreement liability of $2,050,000, and transaction costs of $482,885, which are offset by interest earned on marketable securities held in the trust account of $49,118 and an unrealized gain on marketable securities held in the trust account of $3,788.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On October 9, 2020, we consummated the Initial Public Offering of 25,000,000 units, at a price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000. After deducting underwriting fees of $5,000,000, we received net proceeds of $245,000,000. Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, we consummated the sale of 4,666,667 private placement warrants to the sponsor at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant generating gross proceeds of $7,000,000. We incurred $465,163 of other offering costs, resulting in net cash provided by financing activities of $251,554,837 for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020. Deferred underwriting costs of $8,750,000 were also incurred in connection with the Initial Public Offering, but are not payable until consummation of our initial business combination.
For the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, cash used in investing activities was $250,000,000. Following the Initial Public Offering, and the sale of the private placement warrants, we invested $250,000,000 in the trust account.
For the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, cash used in operating activities was $474,208. Net loss of $4,443,894 was impacted by formation expenses paid by the sponsor of $5,000, interest earned on marketable securities held in the trust account of $49,118, an unrealized gain on marketable securities of $3,788, change in fair value of warrant liability of $1,690,000, loss on forward purchase agreement liability of $2,050,000 and transaction costs of $482,885. Changes in operating assets and liabilities used $205,293 of cash from operating activities.
At December 31, 2020, we had cash and marketable securities held in the trust account of $250,052,906. We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account, which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions, to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest from the trust account to pay taxes, if any. To the extent that our share capital or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash of $1,080,629 held outside of the trust account. We intend to use the funds held outside the trust account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, structure, negotiate and complete our initial business combination.
In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with our initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts, but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.50 per warrant, at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business for at least the next 12 months. However, if our estimate of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking
in-depth
due diligence and negotiating our initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our initial business combination. Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing either to complete our initial business combination or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of our initial business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such initial business combination. 42
Off-Balance
Sheet Financing Arrangements We have no obligations, assets or liabilities, which would be considered
off-balance
sheet arrangements as of December 31, 2020. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance
sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance
sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial
assets. Contractual Obligations
We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than as described below.
The underwriter is entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that we complete our initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
We entered into a forward purchase agreement to which Empower Funding LLC (“Empower Funding”), has received commitments from one or more funds affiliated with MidOcean, and is an affiliate of the sponsor, will purchase an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one Class A ordinary share and
one-third
of one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination, subject to approval at such time by the MidOcean investment committee. The allocation of the forward purchase securities among the ultimate MidOcean funds that will be funding the forward purchase will be determined by MidOcean, in its sole discretion, at the time of our initial business combination. If the sale of the forward purchase units fails to close, for any reason, the Company may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants will be identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that they will be subject to certain registration rights. 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:
Warrant and Forward Purchase Agreement Liabilities
We account for the Warrants and the forward purchase agreement in accordance with the guidance contained in ASC and 7F under which the Warrants and the forward purchase agreement do not meet the criteria for equity treatment and must be recorded as liabilities. Accordingly, we classify the Warrants and the forward purchase agreement as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the Warrants and the forward purchase agreement to fair value at each reporting period. This liability is subject to
815-40-15-7D
re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The Private Warrants are valued using a Modified Black Scholes Option Pricing Model. For periods where no observable traded price was available, the Public Warrants are valued using a Monte Carlo simulation. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the Public Warrant quoted market price was used as the fair value as of each relevant date. The fair value of the forward purchase agreement has been estimated using an adjusted net assets method. Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Redemption
We account for our Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. Our Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of our balance sheet.
43
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. The Company applies the
two-class
method in calculating earnings per share. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value. The calculation of diluted income (loss) per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the Initial Public Offering since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. The warrants are exercisable to purchase 13,000,000 shares of Class A ordinary shares in the aggregate. As of December 31, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net loss per common stock is the same as basic net loss per common stock for the period presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)
2020-06
— “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. ASU 2020-06
is effective January 1, 2022 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. We are currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06
would have on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Following the consummation of our Initial Public Offering, the net proceeds of our Initial Public Offering, including amounts in the trust account, have been invested in U.S. government treasury bills, notes or bonds with a maturity of 185 days or less or in certain money market funds that invest solely in US treasuries. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
This information appears following Item 16 of this Report and is included herein by reference.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
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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 and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules
13a-15
and 15d-15
under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2020. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e)
and 15d-15(e)
under the Exchange Act) were not effective, due to the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting related to Empower Ltd.’s accounting for complex financial instruments, as described in the Explanatory Note and Note 2 to the accompanying financial statements. As a result, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Form 10-K/A
present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented. Management’s Report on Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form
10-K/A
does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies. Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statements
On May 17, 2021, we revised our prior position on accounting for warrants and the forward purchase agreement and concluded that our previously issued financial statements as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020 and as of October 9, 2020 should not be relied on because of a misapplication in the guidance on warrant accounting. However, the
non-cash
adjustments to the financial statements do not impact the amounts previously reported for our cash and cash equivalents, total assets, revenue or cash flows, resulting in the filing of Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 on May 19, 2021 (the “Form 10-K/A
No. 1”). On December 14, 2021, management and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors concluded that the previously issued (i) audited balance sheet as of October 9, 2020, as previously restated in the Form
10-K/A
No. 1, (ii) audited financial statements as of and for the period ended December 31, 2020 included in the Form 10-K/A
No. 1, (iii) unaudited interim financial statements included in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021, and (iv) unaudited interim financial statements included in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
for the quarterly period ended June 30, 2021 should be restated in order to correct the classification error, as described in the Explanatory Note. 45
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules
13a-15(f)
and 15d-15(f)
of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, as the circumstances that led to the restatement of the Company’s financial statements described in this Form 10-K/A
had not yet been identified. Due to the events that led to the restatement of the financial statements included in this Amendment No. 2 and Amendment No. 1, management has identified a material weakness in internal controls related to the accounting for complex financial instruments, as described in Note 2 to the Notes to Financial Statements, at Empower Ltd. that existed prior to the Business Combination. In light of the restatement of the Original Financial Statements included in this Amendment, management has implemented remediation steps to address the material weakness and to improve internal control over financial reporting. Management performed additional analysis, as deemed necessary, to ensure that the financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and enhanced processes to identify and to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards and to appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to our financial statements. Subsequent to the Business Combination on July 16, 2021, and upon filing the 10-Q
for the quarterly period ended September 26, 2021, the internal controls over financial reporting of Holley Inc. took the place of the internal controls over financial reporting of Empower Ltd. As a result, the internal control structure of Empower Ltd. is no longer in operation. Instead, the relevant internal control structure after completion of the Business Combination is that of Holley Inc., which includes access to the financial reporting resources and expertise of Holley Inc. Item 9B. Other Information
None.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Directors and Executive Officers
Our directors and offices are as follows:
| Name |
Age |
Title | ||
| Matthew Rubel | 62 | Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Graham Clempson | 59 | President and Director | ||
| Andrew Spring | 52 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Krishnan (Kandy) Anand | 63 | Director | ||
| Gina Bianchini | 48 | Director | ||
| Jeffrey Jones | 59 | Director | ||
| Beth Kaplan | 62 | Director |
Matthew Rubel.
Mr. Rubel is a renowned retail and brand Chief Executive Officer, having led many successful global brands and businesses. Most recently, Mr. Rubel served as Chief Executive Officer, President, and Board Member of Varsity Brands, a leader in sport, spirit and achievement products, which he strategically focused and integrated. Previously, Mr. Rubel served as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Collective Brands, Inc., which included Payless ShoeSource, Sperry Topsider, Saucony, Stride Rite and Keds. Prior to Collective Brands, Mr. Rubel was Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Cole Haan LLC, from 1999 to 2005. Prior to Cole Haan, he served in senior management roles at J. Crew Group, Revlon and Murjani International Ltd.
Mr. Rubel has been a director of numerous multinational retail and consumer branded companies. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of MidOcean’s portfolio company KidKraft, and also on the Boards of TreeHouse Foods, The Joint Chiropractic and MidOcean’s portfolio company Image Skincare. He previously was an Independent Director at Hudson’s Bay Company (“HBC”), where he served on the Special Committee for HBC’s going private transaction. Mr. Rubel also served as an Independent Director of HSNi, the holding company of HSN and Cornerstone Brands. In addition, Mr. Rubel served as an Independent Director at SUPERVALU, ELF Cosmetics and Furniture Brands and as an advisor to early stage technology and retail companies, including Celect, Inc., Retail Next, First Insight and AfterPay.
Mr. Rubel has also worked closely as a Senior Advisor with TPG Capital, TPG Growth and Roark Capital. He was a presidential appointee to the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy Negotiation from 2010 to 2018. Mr. Rubel holds a Bachelor of Science from Ohio University and an MBA from the University of Miami.
Graham Clempson.
co-founded in
2003, and serves on MidOcean’s Executive Board with a focus on the firm’s Investment Strategy, Portfolio Management and Business Development functions based in New York. Prior to his current position, Mr. Clempson was MidOcean’s European Managing Partner, based in London, from the firm’s inception until 2012. In addition to his role at MidOcean, Mr. Clempson serves as Managing Partner at Quartic Capital LLP, which he founded in 2012. Quartic Capital LLP invests in and manages complex portfolios of secondary private equity assets, in partnership with Coller Capital, a leading global secondary private equity investment firm.
Prior to
co-founding MidOcean,
Mr. Clempson held various leadership positions in the European finance and private equity sectors, including CEO of Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, European Managing Partner of Deutsche Bank Capital Partners, and Co-Head of
European Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank, with particular responsibility for the bank’s Financial Sponsor Coverage, Leveraged Finance and High Yield departments. Mr. Clempson began his career at Bankers Trust Company in 1983. Mr. Clempson currently serves on the board of directors of Display Data Plc, Bandier Holdings LLC, Allied Film Makers Ltd and Thorough Events Holdings Ltd, as well as a member of the Board of Governors of the Parsons School of Design in New York. Mr. Clempson’s previous board roles have included Piaggio & C. SpA, Laurel Pub Co Ltd and United Biscuits Plc. Mr. Clempson received his M.A. in Law from Oxford University.
47
Andrew Spring.
Krishnan (Kandy) Anand
Gina Bianchini.
in-depth knowledge
and experience in building and operating companies in the digital media and technology sector. She currently serves as the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mighty Networks, a SaaS platform that helps businesses sell digital memberships, experiences, relationships, and expertise to their members via community, content, online courses, and subscription commerce. Before Mighty Networks, Ms. Bianchini co-founded Ning,
a pioneering global platform for creating niche social networks. Under her leadership, Ning grew to approximately 100 million people in 300,000 active social networks across subcultures, professional networks, entertainment, politics, and education, before being acquired in 2010. In addition to Mighty Networks, Ms. Bianchini serves as a member of the Board of Directors for TEGNA, a broadcast and digital media company. She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for Scripps Networks Interactive Inc., from 2012 until they were acquired in 2018 by Discovery Communications. Ms. Bianchini holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from Stanford University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Jeffrey Jones.
Beth Kaplan
48
Number and Terms of Office of Officer and Directors
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Anand and Ms. Bianchini, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Mr. Jones and Ms. Kaplan, will expire at our second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Mr. Rubel and Mr. Clempson, will expire at our third annual general meeting.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Pursuant to an agreement entered into with our sponsor, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to
phase-in rules
and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE and Rule 10A-3 of
the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules
and a limited exception, the rules of the NYSE require that the compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee is governed by a charter that complies with the rules of the NYSE. Each committee charter is available on our website at
www.empowermidocean.com.
Audit Committee
Jeffrey Jones, Krishnan (Kandy) Anand and Gina Bianchini serve as members of our audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Jones, Mr. Anand and Ms. Bianchini are independent under the NYSE listing standards and SEC rules applicable to audit committee members. Mr. Jones serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Jones qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
| • | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
| • | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| • | establishing, supervising and reviewing policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
| • | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement and oversight of the work of any independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
49
| • | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
| • | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of this offering and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of this offering; and |
| • | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Beth Kaplan, Krishnan (Kandy) Anand and Gina Bianchini serve as members of the compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on this committee must be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Ms. Kaplan, Mr. Anand and Ms. Bianchini are independent under the NYSE listing standards and SEC rules applicable to compensation committee members. Ms. Kaplan serves as chair of the committee.
The compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for overseeing the selection of persons to be nominated to serve on our board of directors. The compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee is also responsible for overseeing our compensation policies and determinations, as further described below. We have adopted a committee charter, which details the principal functions of the committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 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 and the SEC.
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 compensation committee of any entity that has one or more executive officers serving on our board of directors.
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Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. Our Code of Ethics is posted on our website located at . If we make any amendments to our Code of Ethics other than technical, administrative or other
www.empowermidocean.com
non-substantive
amendments, or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Ethics applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer principal accounting officer or controller or persons performing similar functions requiring disclosure under applicable SEC or NYSE rules, we will disclose the nature of such amendment or waiver on our website. Conflicts of Interest
Under Cayman Islands law, directors and officers owe the following fiduciary duties:
| • | duty to act in good faith in what the director or officer believes to be in the best interests of the Company as a whole; |
| • | duty to exercise powers for the purposes for which those powers were conferred and not for a collateral purpose; |
| • | directors should not improperly fetter the exercise of future discretion; |
| • | duty to exercise powers fairly as between different sections of shareholders; |
| • | duty not to put themselves in a position in which there is a conflict between their duty to the Company and their personal interests; and |
| • | duty to exercise independent judgment. |
In addition to the above, directors also owe a duty of care which is not fiduciary in nature. This duty has been defined as a requirement to act as a reasonably diligent person having both the general knowledge, skill and experience that may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the same functions as are carried out by that director in relation to the Company and the general knowledge skill and experience of that director.
As set out above, directors have a duty not to put themselves in a position of conflict and this includes a duty not to engage in self-dealing, or to otherwise benefit as a result of their position. However, in some instances what would otherwise be a breach of this duty can be forgiven and/or authorized in advance by the shareholders that there is full disclosure by the directors. This can be done by way of permission granted in the amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or alternatively by shareholder approval at general meetings.
provided
Certain of our Founders, officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary and contractual duties to other entities. As a result, if any of our Founders, 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, then, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. However, we do not expect these duties to materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we renounce our interest in any business combination opportunity offered to any Founder, director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of the Company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
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Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our executive officers and directors currently have fiduciary duties, contractual obligations or other material management relationships:
| Individual |
Entity |
Type of Business |
Affiliation | |||
Matthew Rubel |
MidOcean Partners (1) |
Private Equity | Chairman of Executive Board | |||
| KidKraft | Manufacturing | Executive Chairman | ||||
| TreeHouse Foods | Food Processing | Director | ||||
| The Joint Chiropractic | Chiropractic Care | Director | ||||
| Image Skincare | Skincare | Director | ||||
| TOMS Shoes | Footwear | Director | ||||
Graham Clempson |
MidOcean Partners (1) |
Private Equity | Vice Chairman and Co-founder | |||
| Bandier Holdings LLC | Sportswear | Director | ||||
| Display Data PLC | Information Services | Director | ||||
| Thorough Events Holdings Ltd | Events Services | Director | ||||
| Allied Film Makers Ltd | Production | Director | ||||
Andrew Spring |
MidOcean Partners (1) |
Private Equity | Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer | |||
Krishnan (Kandy) Anand |
Folium Bio Sciences | Wholesaler | Director | |||
| Wingstop Inc. | Restaurants | Director | ||||
Gina Bianchini |
Mighty Networks | Software | Chief Executive Officer | |||
| TEGNA | Broadcasting | Director | ||||
Jeffrey Jones |
Noodles & Company | Restaurants | Chairman of the Board | |||
| Hershey Entertainment & Resorts | Entertainment | Lead Independent Director | ||||
| Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. | REIT | Lead Independent Director | ||||
| ClubCorp | Golf and Membership Clubs | Director | ||||
Beth Kaplan |
Axcel Partners, LLC | Private Equity | Managing Member | |||
| Meredith Corporation | Media | Director | ||||
| Howard Hughes Corporation | Real Estate | Director | ||||
| Crocs | Consumer Shoe Brand | Director | ||||
| Rent the Runway | Apparel Rental Services | Director and Advisor | ||||
| Care/of | Health Technology | Director and Advisor | ||||
| Leesa Sleep | Mattress Retailer | Director and Advisor | ||||
| (1) | Includes MidOcean Partners and certain of its funds, affiliates, and other related entities, including certain portfolio companies in which the funds and other related entities invest. |
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| • | Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. |
| • | Our sponsor subscribed for founder shares prior to the date of our Initial Public Offering and purchased private placement warrants at the time of the Initial Public Offering. |
| • | We entered into a forward purchase agreement with Empower Funding, which is an affiliate of our sponsor, at the time of the Initial Public Offering. |
| • | Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance |
52
| or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering or during any extension period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Additionally, our sponsor has agreed to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to its founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. If we do not complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for at least 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Except as described herein, the private placement warrants will not be transferable until 30 days following the completion of our initial business combination. Because each of our executive officers and director nominees will own ordinary shares or warrants directly or indirectly, they may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| • | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. In addition, our Founders, sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. |
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, Founders, 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 Founders, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Furthermore, in no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers, or their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination. We currently expect our sponsor to provide us with office space, administrative and support services at no cost, but we may incur costs for office space and administrative and support services in the future.
We cannot assure you that any of the above mentioned conflicts will be resolved in our favor.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote their founder shares and public shares in favor of our initial business combination.
Limitation on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors
Cayman Islands law does not limit the extent to which a company’s memorandum and articles of association may provide for indemnification of officers and directors, except to the extent any such provision may be held by the Cayman Islands courts to be contrary to public policy, such as to provide indemnification against willful default, willful neglect, civil fraud or the consequences of committing a crime. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide for indemnification of our officers and directors to the maximum extent permitted by law, including for any liability incurred in their capacities as such, except through their own actual fraud, willful default or willful neglect. We have entered into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We have purchased a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
53
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will only be able to be satisfied by us if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination.
Our indemnification obligations may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors have received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the Company to our sponsor or officers, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our 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 Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares as of March 1, 2021 by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
| • | each of our executive officers and directors; and |
| • | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this prospectus.
54
Class B Ordinary Shares (2) |
Class A Ordinary Shares |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Approximate Percentage of Voting Control |
|||||||||||||||
| Sculptor Capital LP (3) |
— | — | 2,287,075 | 9.1 | % | 7.3 | % | |||||||||||||
| Glazer Capital, LLC (4) |
— | — | 2,253,641 | 9.0 | % | 7.2 | % | |||||||||||||
| Periscope Capital Inc. (5) |
— | — | 1,449,100 | 5.8 | % | 4.6 | % | |||||||||||||
| Empower Sponsor Holdings LLC |
6,250,000 | (6) |
100.0 | % | — | — | 20.0 | % | ||||||||||||
| Matthew Rubel |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Graham Clempson |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Andrew Spring |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Krishnan (Kandy) Anand |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Gina Bianchini |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Jeffrey Jones |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Beth Kaplan |
— | (7) |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| All officers and directors as a group (7 individuals) |
— | (7) |
— | |||||||||||||||||
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 245 Park Avenue, 38th Floor, New York, NY 10167. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof Excludes Class A ordinary shares issuable pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, as such shares will only be issued, if at all, at the time of our initial business combination. |
| (3) | Based on the Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 5, 2021 by Sculptor Capital LP. According to its Schedule 13G/A, Sculptor Capital reported having sole voting power over no shares, shared voting power over 2,287,075 Class A ordinary shares, sole dispositive power over no shares and shared dispositive power over 2,287,075 Class A ordinary shares. The Schedule 13G/A contained information as of December 31, 2020. The address of Sculptor Capital is 9 West 57th Street, New York, New York 10019. |
| (4) | Based on the Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021 by Glazer Capital, LLC. According to its Schedule 13G/A, Glazer Capital reported having sole voting power over no shares, shared voting power over 2,253,641 Class A ordinary shares, sole dispositive power over no shares and shared dispositive power over 2,253,641 Class A ordinary shares. The Schedule 13G/A contained information as of December 31, 2020. The address of Glazer Capital is 250 West 55th Street, Suite 30A, New York, New York 10019. |
| (5) | Based on the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 16, 2021 by Periscope Capital Inc. According to its Schedule 13G, Periscope Capital reported having sole voting power over no shares, shared voting power over 1,449,100 Class A ordinary shares, sole dispositive power over no shares and shared dispositive power over 1,449,100 Class A ordinary shares. The Schedule 13G contained information as of December 31, 2020. The address of Periscope Capital is 333 Bay Street, Suite 1240, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2R2. |
| (6) | Our sponsor, Empower Sponsor Holdings LLC, is the record holder of the shares reported. The managing member of our sponsor is MidOcean Associates V, L.P. (“Associates”). The general partner of Associates is Ultramar Capital, Ltd. (“Ultramar”), which is controlled by James Edward Virtue (“Virtue”). Accordingly, each of Associates, Ultramar and Virtue may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the shares held by our sponsor. Each of Associates, Ultramar and Virtue disclaims beneficial ownership of any shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. |
| (7) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned by this individual as a result of the individual’s membership interest in our sponsor. Each of these individuals disclaims beneficial ownership of any shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. |
Our sponsor beneficially owns 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares and has the right to appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares do not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our sponsor may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
55
Our sponsor has agreed (a) to vote any founder shares and public shares held by it in favor of any proposed business combination and (b) not to redeem any founder shares or public shares held by it in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination.
We have entered into a forward purchase agreement pursuant to which Empower Funding has agreed to subscribe for an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one Class A ordinary share and
one-third of
one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of our initial business combination, subject to approval at such time by the MidOcean investment committee. The forward purchase agreement also provides that the forward purchase investors are entitled to registration rights with respect to (A) the forward purchase shares, (B) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase warrants and (C) any other Class A ordinary shares acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquisitions after we complete our initial business combination.
Our sponsor, Empower Funding and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares and private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to
lock-up
provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and management team. Our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (b) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. The private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants are not transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The foregoing restrictions are not applicable to transfers (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor, including to funds affiliated with MidOcean, and to limited partners of funds affiliated with MidOcean; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the founder shares, private placement warrants or Class A ordinary shares, as applicable, were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of our sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of our sponsor; (g) to the Company for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination; (h) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; or (i) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement. Equity Compensation Plans
As of December 31, 2020, we had no compensation plans (including individual compensation arrangements) under which equity securities were authorized for issuance.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Founder Shares
On August 21, 2020, our sponsor purchased 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate price of $25,000. Our sponsor agreed to forfeit up to 937,500 founder shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. The forfeiture was to be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters so that the founder shares would represent 20.0% of our issued and outstanding shares after our Initial Public Offering. The underwriters declined to exercised their
45-day
over-allotment option in connection with our Initial Public Offering; thus, the 937,500 founder shares were forfeited by our sponsor. 56
Our sponsor and our officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of the ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share dividends, rights issuances, subdivisions, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any
30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, amalgamation, share exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of our Initial Public Offering, we sold 4,666,667 private placement warrants to our sponsor at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds of $7 million. Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the net proceeds from the private placement was added to the proceeds from our Initial Public Offering held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination by October 9, 2022, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The private placement warrants are
non-redeemable
and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. Our sponsor and our officers and directors agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their private placement warrants until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor, or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us working capital loans. If we complete a business combination, we would repay the working capital loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, the working capital loans can be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that a business combination does not close, we may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the working capital loans but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the working capital loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such working capital loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The working capital loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such working capital loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. To date, we had no borrowings under the working capital loans.
Reimbursement
Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or any of their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and any warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants, upon the exercise of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement signed on the effective date of the Initial Public Offering. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that we register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period, which occurs (i) in the case of the founder shares, as described in the following paragraph, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, we will agree that we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to (i) within 30 days after the closing of the initial business combination, file a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase investors’ forward purchase shares, (B) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase investors’ forward purchase warrants and (C) any other Class A ordinary shares acquired by the forward purchase investors, including
57
any acquisitions after we complete our initial business combination, (ii) cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 90 days after the closing of the initial business combination and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and to ensure the registration statement does not contain a material omission or misstatement, including by way of amendment or other update, as required, until the earlier of (A) the date on which a forward purchase investor ceases to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreement. We will bear the cost of registering these securities.
Except as described herein, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell their founder shares until the earliest of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share
sub-divisions,
share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our sponsor with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this Annual Report as the lock-up.
In addition, pursuant to the registration and shareholder rights agreement, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, in addition to other rights as detailed in the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Forward Purchase Agreement
The Company entered into a forward purchase agreement to which Empower Funding, a newly formed Delaware limited liability company which has received commitments from one or more funds affiliated with MidOcean, and is an affiliate of our sponsor, will purchase an aggregate of up to 5,000,000 forward purchase units, consisting of one Class A ordinary share and
one-third
of one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $10.00 per unit, or up to $50,000,000 in the aggregate, in a private placement to close substantially concurrently with the closing of an initial business combination, subject to approval at such time by the MidOcean investment committee. The allocation of the forward purchase securities among the ultimate MidOcean funds that will be funding the forward purchase will be determined by MidOcean, in its sole discretion, at the time of an initial business combination. If the sale of the forward purchase units fails to close, for any reason, the Company may lack sufficient funds to consummate an initial business combination. The forward purchase shares and forward purchase warrants will be identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that they will be subject to certain registration rights. Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors has adopted a charter, providing for the review, approval and/or ratification of “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation
S-K
as promulgated by the SEC, by the audit committee. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing, or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that the Company has already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to the Company and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction. 58
Director Independence
The rules of the NYSE require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person that, in the opinion of the Company’s board of directors, has no material relationship with the listed company (either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with the Company). Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Anand, Ms. Bianchini, Mr. Jones and Ms. Kaplan are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards. Our independent directors meet in executive session at which only independent directors are present as part of regularly scheduled meetings.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP, or Marcum, for services rendered.
Audit Fees
year-end
financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Marcum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q
for the respective periods and other required filings with the SEC for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 totaled $39,140. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings. Audit-Related Fees.
Tax Fees
All Other Fees
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). 59
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K: |
| (1) | Financial Statements: |
Page |
||||
| Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |
F-2 |
|||
| Balance Sheet |
F-3 |
|||
| Statement of Operations |
F-4 |
|||
| Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity |
F-5 |
|||
| Statement of Cash Flows |
F-6 |
|||
| Notes to Financial Statements |
F-7 |
|||
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedules: |
None.
| (3) | Exhibits |
The exhibits listed in the below Exhibit Index are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report on Form
10-K.
60
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed on October 13, 2020. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to an exhibit to the Registrant’s Form S-1 (File No. 333-248899), filed with the SEC on September 18, 2020. |
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Furnished herewith. |
| *** | Previously filed. |
Item 16. Form
10-K/A
Summary Not applicable.
61
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized
.
| HOLLEY, INC. (F/K/A EMPOWER LTD.) | ||||||
| Date: February 4, 2022 |
By: |
/s/ Thomas W. Tomlinson | ||||
| Thomas W. Tomlinson | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer and Principal Executive Officer | ||||||
| /s/ Dominic Bardos | ||||||
| Dominic Bardos | ||||||
| Chief Financial Officer and Principal Financial and Accounting Officer | ||||||
62
Index to Financial Statements
| Audited Financial Statements of Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.) |
||||
F-2 |
||||
| Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2020 (Restated) |
F-3 |
|||
F-4 |
||||
F-5 |
||||
F-6 |
||||
F-7 – F-7 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of
Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.)
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.) (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of the Previously Issued Financial Statements
As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, the accompanying financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, have been restated.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (the “PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
Houston, Texas
March 5, 2021 except for the effects of the restatement discussed in Note 2 – Amendment No. 1, as to which the day is May 18, 2021 and except for the effects of the restatement discussed in Note 2 – Amendment No. 2, as to which the date is February 2, 2022
F-2
HOLLEY INC. (F/K/A EMPOWER LTD.)
BALANCE SHEET
DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
| ASSETS |
||||
| Current Assets |
||||
| Cash |
$ | |||
| Prepaid expenses |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total Current Assets |
||||
| Cash and marketable securities held in trust account |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total Assets |
$ |
|||
| |
|
|||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT |
||||
| Current liabilities—accrued expenses |
$ | |||
| Warrant liability |
||||
| Forward purchase agreement liability |
||||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Total Liabilities |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Commitments |
||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, |
||||
| Shareholders’ Deficit |
||||
| Preference shares, $ |
||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $ |
||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $ |
||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
||||
| Accumulated deficit |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Total Shareholders’ Deficit |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders’ Deficit |
$ |
|||
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-3
HOLLEY INC. (F/K/A EMPOWER LTD.)
STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 19, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH
DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
| Formation and operating costs |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Loss from operations |
( |
) | ||
| Other income (expenses): |
||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in trust account |
||||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in trust account |
||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability |
( |
) | ||
| Change in fair value of forward purchase agreement liability |
( |
) | ||
| Transaction costs |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Other expenses, net |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net loss |
$ |
( |
) | |
| |
|
|||
| Weighted average Class A ordinary shares outstanding |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net loss per Class A ordinary share |
$ | ( |
) | |
| |
|
|||
| Weighted average Class B ordinary shares outstanding |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net loss per Class B ordinary share |
$ |
( |
) | |
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-4
HOLLEY INC. (F/K/A EMPOWER LTD.)
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 19, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH
DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
Class B Ordinary Shares |
Additional Paid-in Capital |
Retained Earnings |
Total Shareholders’ Equity |
|||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||
| Balance – August 19, 2020 (inception) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to sponsor |
— | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of |
— | — | — | |||||||||||||||||
| Forfeiture of founder shares |
( |
) | ( |
) | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| Accretion for Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
— | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
| Balance – December 31, 2020 |
$ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
( |
) | ||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-5
HOLLEY INC. (F/K/A EMPOWER LTD.)
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
FOR THE PERIOD FROM AUGUST 19, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH
DECEMBER 31, 2020 (As Restated)
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
||||
| Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | |
| Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||
| Payment of formation costs through issuance of Class B ordinary shares |
||||
| Interest earned on marketable securities held in trust account |
( |
) | ||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities held in trust account |
( |
) | ||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability |
||||
| Change in fair value of forward purchase agreement liability |
||||
| Transaction costs |
||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||
| Prepaid expenses |
( |
) | ||
| Accrued expenses |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||
| Investment of cash in trust account |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash used in investing activities |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||
| Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting discounts paid |
||||
| Proceeds from sale of private placement warrants |
||||
| Proceeds from promissory note – related party |
||||
| Repayment of promissory note – related party |
( |
) | ||
| Payment of offering costs |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Net cash provided by financing activities |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Net Change in Cash |
||||
| Cash – Beginning |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Cash – Ending |
$ |
|||
| |
|
|||
| Non-Cash Investing and Financing Activities: |
||||
| Offering costs paid by sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Class B ordinary shares |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Initial classification of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Change in value of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | ( |
) | |
| |
|
|||
| Deferred underwriting fee payable |
$ | |||
| |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
F-6
NOTE 1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS
Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.) (the “Company”) is a blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on August 19, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “initial business combination”).
The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of completing an initial business combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”), which is described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of an initial business combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering. The registration statement for the Company’s Initial Public Offering became effective on October 6, 2020. On October 9, 2020, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 25,000,000 units (the “units” and, with respect to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units sold, the “public shares”), at $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $250,000,000 which is described in Note 4.
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 4,666,667 warrants (the “private placement warrants”) at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant in a private placement to Empower Sponsor Holdings LLC (the “sponsor”), generating gross proceeds of $7,000,000 , which is described in Note 5.
Transaction costs amounted to $14,215,163 , consisting of $5,000,000 of underwriting fees, $8,750,000 of deferred underwriting fees and $465,163 of other offering costs.
Following the closing of the Initial Public Offering on October 9, 2020, an amount of $250,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the units in the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants was placed in a trust account (the “trust account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 185 days or less, or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting certain conditions of Rule
2a-7
of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of an initial business combination and (ii) the distribution of the funds in the trust account to the Company’s shareholders, as described below. The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Initial Public Offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward completing an initial business combination. The Company must complete its initial business combination with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (excluding any deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into an initial business combination. The Company will only complete an initial business combination if the post-initial business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect an initial business combination.
The Company will provide its shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of an initial business combination either (i) in connection with a shareholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek shareholder approval of an initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount held in the trust account (initially $10.00 per share), calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of an initial business combination, including 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. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of an initial business combination with respect to the Company’s warrants.
F-7
If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with an initial business combination, it receives an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law approving an initial business combination, which requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shareholders who vote at a general meeting of the Company. If a shareholder vote is not required under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and file tender offer documents containing substantially the same information as would be included in a proxy statement with the SEC prior to completing an initial business combination. If the Company seeks shareholder approval in connection with an initial business combination, the sponsor has agreed to vote its founder shares (as defined in Note 6) and any public shares purchased in or after the Initial Public Offering in favor of approving an initial business combination and to waive its redemption rights with respect to any such shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an initial business combination. However, in no event will the Company redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 . Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares, without voting, and if they do vote, irrespective of whether they vote for or against a proposed an initial business combination.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of an initial business combination and it does not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Company’s Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association provides that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15 % of the public shares without the Company’s prior written consent.
The sponsor has agreed (a) to waive its redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by it in connection with the completion of an initial business combination and (b) not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (i) to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100 % of the public shares if the Company does not complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period (as defined below) or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to shareholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in conjunction with any such amendment and (iii) to waive its rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to the founder shares if the Company fails to complete an initial business combination. The Company will have until October 9, 2022 (the “Combination Period”) to complete an initial business combination. If the Company is unable to complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the outstanding public shares, at a .
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses and net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to its obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable lawThe sponsor has agreed to waive its liquidation rights with respect to the founder shares if the Company fails to complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period. However, if the sponsor acquires public shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, such public shares will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if the Company fails to complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 7) held in the trust account in the event the Company does not complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of the public shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the assets remaining available for distribution will be less than the Initial Public Offering price per unit ($10.00 ).
The sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company, if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or by 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 (1) $10.00 per Public Share or (2) 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 trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account.
F-8
Risks and Uncertainties
Management continues to evaluate the impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic 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 financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. NOTE 2 — RESTATEMENT OF PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Amendment No. 1
The Company previously accounted for its outstanding Public Warrants (as defined in Note 4) and Private Placement Warrants (collectively, with the Public Warrants, the “Warrants”) issued in connection with its Initial Public Offering and the FPA (as defined in Note 7) as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. The warrant agreement governing the Warrants includes a provision that provides for potential changes to the settlement amounts dependent upon the characteristics of the holder of the warrant. In addition, the warrant agreement includes a provision that in the event of a tender offer or exchange offer made to and accepted by holders of more than 50 % of the outstanding shares of a single class of stock, all holders of the Warrants would be entitled to receive cash for their Warrants (the “tender offer provision”).
On April 12, 2021, the Acting Director of the Division of Corporation Finance and Acting Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission together issued a statement regarding the accounting and reporting considerations for warrants issued by special purpose acquisition companies entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “SEC Statement”). Specifically, the SEC Statement focused on certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers following a business combination, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement (the “Warrant Agreement”).
In further consideration of the SEC Statement, the Company’s management further evaluated the Warrants and the FPA under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic addresses equity versus liability treatment and classification of equity-linked financial instruments, including warrants, and states that a warrant may be classified as a component of equity only if, among other things, the warrant is indexed to the issuer’s common stock. Under ASC a warrant is not indexed to the issuer’s common stock if the terms of the warrant require an adjustment to the exercise price upon a specified event and that event is not an input to the fair value of the warrant. Based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the Company’s Private Placement Warrants and the FPA are not indexed to the Company’s common stock in the manner contemplated by ASC because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a option on equity shares. In addition, based on management’s evaluation, the Company’s audit committee, in consultation with management, concluded that the tender offer provision fails the “classified in stockholders’ equity” criteria as contemplated by ASC
815-40,
Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. ASC Section 815-40-15
Section 815-40-15,
Section 815-40-15
fixed-for-fixed
Section 815-40-25.
As a result of the above, the Company should have classified the Warrants and the FPA as derivative liabilities in its previously issued financial statements. Under this accounting treatment, the Company is required to measure the fair value of the Warrants and the FPA at the end of each reporting period as well as
re-evaluate
the treatment of the Warrants and the FPA and recognize changes in the fair value of each from the prior period in the Company’s operating results for the current period. The Company’s accounting for the Warrants as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities did not have any effect on the Company’s previously reported investments held in trust, revenue, operating expenses, cash flows or cash.
F-9
The following table summarizes the effect of the restatement on each financial statement line item impacted by the restatement and on the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption.
As Previously Reported in Amendment No. 1 |
Adjustments |
As Restated |
||||||||||
| Balance sheet as of October 9, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Warrant liability |
||||||||||||
| Forward purchase agreement liability |
||||||||||||
| Total Liabilities |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares |
||||||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital |
||||||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit |
( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||
| Total Shareholders’ Equity |
||||||||||||
| Number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Balance sheet as of December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Warrant liability |
||||||||||||
| Forward purchase agreement liability |
||||||||||||
| Total Liabilities |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Class A Ordinary Shares |
||||||||||||
| Additional Paid-in Capital |
||||||||||||
| Accumulated Deficit |
( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||
| Shareholders’ Equity |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Statement of Operations |
||||||||||||
| Period from August 19, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||
| Weighted average shares subject to possible redemption |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding of basic and diluted shares |
||||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||
| Cash Flow Statement for the Period from August 19, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||
| Change in warrant liability |
||||||||||||
| Allocation of initial public offering costs |
||||||||||||
| Initial classification of warrant liability |
||||||||||||
| Initial classification of common stock subject to possible redemption |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Change in value of common stock subject to possible redemption |
( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||
F-10
Amendment No. 2
In response to recent comment letters issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), management has to its accounting classification of the Class A ordinary shares issued in connection with the Company’s Initial Public Offering. Management identified errors made in its historical financial statements where, at the closing of the Company’s Initial Public Offering, the Company improperly valued its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption. The Company previously determined the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption to be equal to the redemption value, while also taking into consideration a redemption cannot result in net tangible assets being less than $5,000,001 . Management determined that the Public Shares underlying the Units issued during the Initial Public Offering can be redeemed or become redeemable subject to the occurrence of future events considered outside the Company’s control. Therefore, management concluded that temporary equity should include all shares of Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, resulting in the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption being equal to their redemption value. As a result, management has noted a classification error related to temporary equity and permanent equity. This resulted in an adjustment to the initial carrying value of the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption with the offset recorded to additional
re-evaluated
its application of ASC 480-10-S99-3A
paid-in
capital (to the extent availa
ble), accumulated deficit and Class A ordinary shares. In connection with the change in presentation for the Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption, the Company also restated its loss per ordinary share calculation to allocate net loss evenly to Class A and Class B ordinary shares. This presentation contemplates a Business Combination as the most likely outcome, in which case, both classes of ordinary shares share pro rata in the loss of the Company.
There has been no change in the Company’s total assets, liabilities or operating results.
As Previously Reported in Amendment No. 1 |
Adjustment |
As Restated |
||||||||||
| Balance Sheet as of October 9, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Ordinary shares |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||
| Total Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||||
| Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Ordinary shares |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||
| Total Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||||
| Statement of Operations for the Period from August 19, 2020 (Inception) Through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Weighted average Class A ordinary shares outstanding |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per Class A ordinary share |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||||
| Weighted average Class B ordinary shares outstanding |
( |
) | ||||||||||
| Basic and diluted net loss per Class B ordinary share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | $ | ( |
) | |||||
F-11
As Previously Reported in Amendment No. 1 |
Adjustment |
As Restated |
||||||||||
| Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Sale of 25,00,000 Units, net of underwriter discounts and offering expenses |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | |||||||
| Initial value of Class A Ordinary Shares subject to redemption |
$ | ( |
) | $ | $ | |||||||
| Accretion for Class A Ordinary Shares to redemption amount |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||||
| Total Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
$ | $ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | |||||
| Statement of Cash Flows for the Period from August 19, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Initial classification of Ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Change in value of ordinary shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | ( |
) | $ | $ | |||||||
NOTE 3. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements are presented in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
non-binding
advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Use of Estimates
The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires 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.
Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
F-12
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2020, substantially all of the assets held in the trust account were held in U.S. Treasury Bills.
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption (Restated – see Note 2)
The Company accounts for its Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A ordinary shares subject to mandatory redemption are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable ordinary shares (including ordinary shares that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, ordinary shares are classified as shareholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A ordinary shares feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the shareholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheet.
The Company recognizes changes in redemption value immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable ordinary shares are affected by charges against additional paid in capital and accumulated deficit. Immediately upon the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount value. The change in the carrying value of redeemable ordinary shares resulted in charges against additional
paid-in
capital and accumulated deficit. At December 31, 2020, the Ordinary Shares reflected in the balance sheets are reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds |
$ | |||
| Less: |
||||
| Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants |
$ | ( |
) | |
| Class A ordinary share issuance costs |
$ | ( |
) | |
| Plus: |
||||
| Accretion of carrying value to redemption value |
$ | |||
| |
|
|||
| Class A ordinary share subject to possible redemption |
$ | |||
| |
|
Warrant and FPA Liabilities
The Company accounts for the Warrants and the FPA as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the specific terms of the Warrants and the FPA and applicable authoritative guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the Warrants and the FPA are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the Warrants and the FPA are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares and whether the holders of the warrants could potentially require “net cash settlement” in a circumstance outside of the Company’s control, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of issuance of the Warrants and execution of the FPA and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants and the FPA are outstanding. For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, such warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional
paid-in
capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants and the FPA that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, liability-classified warrants and the FPA are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of such warrants and the FPA are recognized as a non-cash
gain or loss on the statements of operations. F-13
We account for the Warrants and FPA in accordance with ASC
815-40
under which the Warrants and the FPA do not meet the criteria for equity classification and must be required as liabilities. At December 31, 2020, the fair value of the Public Warrants has been estimated using the Public Warrants’ quoted market price. The Private Placement Warrants are valued using a Modified Black Scholes Option Pricing Model. The fair value of the FPA has been estimated using an adjusted net assets method (see Note 10). Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be
more-likely-than-not
to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception. The Company is considered an exempted Cayman Islands Company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented.
Net Income (Loss) Per Common Share
(Restated, See Note 2, Amendment No. 1)
Net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 13,000,000 shares in the calculation of diluted loss per share, since the exercise of the warrants are contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive.
The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share of common shares subject to possible redemption in a manner similar to the
two-class
method of income (loss) per share. Net income (loss) per common share, basic and diluted, for Common stock subject to possible redemption is calculated by dividing the proportionate share of income or loss on marketable securities held by the Trust Account, net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of Common stock subject to possible redemption outstanding since original issuance. Net loss per share, basic and diluted, for
non-redeemable
common stock is calculated by dividing the net loss, adjusted for income or loss on marketable securities attributable to Common stock subject to possible redemption, by the weighted average number of non-redeemable
common stock outstanding for the period. Non-redeemable
common stock includes Founder Shares and non-redeemable
shares of common stock as these shares do not have any redemption features. Non-redeemable
common stock participates in the income or loss on marketable securities based on non-redeemable
common stock shares’ proportionate interest. Year ended December 31, 2020 |
||||
| Common stock subject to possible redemption |
||||
| Numerator: Earnings allocable to Common stock subject to possible redemption Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account |
$ | |||
| Less: Income taxes and franchise fees |
||||
| Net income allocable to shares subject to possible redemption |
$ | |||
| Denominator: Weighted Average Common stock subject to possible redemption Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding |
||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share |
$ | |||
| Non-Redeemable Common Stock |
||||
| Numerator: Net Loss minus Net Earnings Net loss |
$ | ( |
) | |
F-14
Year ended December 31, 2020 |
||||
Net earnings allocable to Common stock subject to possible redemption |
||||
Non-Redeemable Net Loss Denominator: Weighted Average Non-Redeemable Common Stock |
$ |
( |
) | |
Basic and weighted average shares outstanding |
||||
Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ | ( |
) | |
(Restated, see Note 2 – Amendment No. 2)
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. The Company applies the
two-class
method in calculating income (loss) per ordinary share. Accretion associated with the redeemable shares of Class A ordinary shares is excluded from income (loss) per ordinary share as the redemption value approximates fair value. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Initial Public Offering to purchase an aggregate of 13,000,000 shares in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events. As of December 31, 2020, the Company did no t have any dilutive securities or other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into common stock and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted net income (loss) per ordinary share is the same as basic net income (loss) per ordinary share for the periods presented.
The following table reflects the calculation of basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share (in dollars, except share amounts):
For the Period from August 19, 2020 (Inception) Through December 31, 2020 |
||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share |
||||||||
Numerator: |
||||||||
Allocation of net loss, as adjusted |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | ||
Denominator: |
||||||||
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding |
||||||||
Basic and diluted net loss per ordinary share |
$ | ( |
) | $ | ( |
) | ||
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which, at times may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000 . The Company has not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurement,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying financial statements, primarily due to their short-term nature.
F-15
Fair Value Measurements
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.
Derivative Financial Instruments
The Company evaluates its financial instruments to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging”. For derivative financial instruments that are accounted for as liabilities, the derivative instrument is initially recorded at its fair value on the grant date and is then
re-valued
at each reporting date, with changes in the fair value reported in the statements of operations. The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is evaluated at the end of each reporting period. Derivative liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as current or non-current
based on whether or not net-cash
settlement or conversion of the instrument could be required within 12 months of the balance sheet date. Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)
2020-06
— “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. ASU 2020-06
is effective January 1, 2022 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. We are currently assessing the impact, if any, that ASU 2020-06
would have on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
NOTE 4. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 25,000,000 units, at a purchase price of $10.00 per unit. Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share and
one-third
of one redeemable warrant (“public warrant”). Each whole public warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at an exercise price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 9).NOTE 5. PRIVATE PLACEMENT
Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the sponsor purchased an aggregate of 4,666,667 private placement warrants at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, for an aggregate purchase price of $7,000,000 . Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 9). The proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants were added to the net proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the trust account. If the Company does not complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of the public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless.
F-16
NOTE 6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Founder Shares
During the period ended August 21, 2020, the sponsor paid $25,000 to cover certain offering and formation costs of the Company in consideration for 7,187,500 shares of Class B ordinary shares (the “founder shares”). The founder shares include an aggregate of up to 937,500 shares subject to forfeiture by the sponsor to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment is not exercised in full or in part, so that the number of founder shares will collectively represent 20 % of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering. On November 23, 2020, the underwriters’ election to exercise their over-allotment option expired unexercised, resulting in the forfeiture of 937,500 shares. Accordingly, as of November 23, 2020, there are 6,250,000 founder shares issued and outstanding.
sub-divisions,
share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after a an initial business combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other propertyPromissory Note — Related Party
On August 21, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the sponsor (the “Promissory Note”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 . The Promissory Note is 150,295 was repaid at the closing of the Initial Public Offering on October 9, 2020.
non-interest
bearing and payable on the earlier of (i) December 31, 2020 or (i) the consummation of the Initial Public Offering. The outstanding balance under the Note of $Related Party Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an initial business combination, the sponsor or an affiliate of the sponsor or certain of the Company’s directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes an initial business combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the trust account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that an initial business combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the trust account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the trust account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of an initial business combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $2,000,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-initial business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants.
NOTE 7. COMMITMENTS
Registration and Shareholders Rights
Pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement entered into on October 9, 2020, the holders of the founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the founder shares) will be entitled to registration rights. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. However, the registration and shareholder rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. The registration and shareholders rights agreement does not contain liquidating damages or other cash settlement provisions resulting from delays in registering the Company’s securities. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
F-17
Pursuant to the forward purchase agreement, the Company agreed that it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to (i) within 30 days after the closing of the an initial business combination, file a registration statement with the SEC for a secondary offering of (A) the forward purchase investors’ forward purchase shares, (B) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the forward purchase investors’ forward purchase warrants and (C) any other Class A ordinary shares acquired by the forward purchase investors, including any acquisitions after the Company completes an initial business combination, (ii) cause such registration statement to be declared effective promptly thereafter, but in no event later than 90 days after the closing of an initial business combination and (iii) maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and to ensure the registration statement does not contain a material omission or misstatement, including by way of amendment or other update, as required, until the earlier of (A) the date on which a forward purchase investor ceases to hold the securities covered thereby and (B) the date all of the securities covered thereby can be sold publicly without restriction or limitation under Rule 144 under the Securities Act, and without the requirement to be in compliance with Rule 144(c)(1) under the Securities Act, subject to certain conditions and limitations set forth in the forward purchase agreement. The Company will bear the cost of registering these securities.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 3,750,000 additional units to cover over-allotments at the Initial Public Offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions. On November 23, 2020, the underwriters’ election to exercise their over-allotment option expired unexercised.
45-day
option to purchase up to The underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per unit, or $8,750,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the trust account solely in the event that the Company completes an initial business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Forward Purchase Agreement
one-third
of one warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share for $NOTE 8. SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (Restated, see Note 2 – Amendment No. 2)
Preference Shares
Class
A Ordinary Shares
Class
B Ordinary Shares
Holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of the Company’s shareholders except as otherwise required by law.
F-18
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of an initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an 20 % of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding upon completion of Initial Public Offering, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of an initial business combination, excluding any forward purchase securities and Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, deemed issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to the sponsor, its affiliates or any member of the Company’s management team upon conversion of Working Capital Loans.
as-converted
basis, In
no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one.
NOTE 9. WARRANT LIABILITY
Warrants
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a public warrant and will have no obligation to settle such public warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is available, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and the Company 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 is available.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days, after the closing of an initial business combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of an initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company so elects, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but the Company will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60
th
day after the closing of an initial business combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company has failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption, but the Company will use its commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class
A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $18.00
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per public warrant; |
| • | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if the Company are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
F-19
Redemption of Warrants When the Price per Class
A Ordinary Share Equals or Exceeds $10.00
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares based on the redemption date and the fair market value of the Class A ordinary shares; and |
| • | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for share splits, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company send the notice of redemption to warrant holders. |
The exercise price and number of ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the public warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the public warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of ordinary shares at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the public warrants. If the Company is unable to complete an initial business combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the trust account, holders of public warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their public warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such public warrants. Accordingly, the public warrants may expire worthless.
The private placement warrants are identical to the public warrants underlying the units sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of an initial business combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the private placement warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be
non-redeemable,
except as described above, so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the public warrants. F-20
NOTE 10. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Company follows the guidance in ASC Topic 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are
re-measured
and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial
assets and liabilities that are re-measured
and reported at fair value at least annually. The fair value of the Company’s financial assets and liabilities reflects management’s estimate of amounts that the Company would have received in connection with the sale of the assets or paid in connection with the transfer of the liabilities in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. In connection with measuring the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:
Level 1: |
Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis. | |
Level 2: |
Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active. | |
Level 3: |
Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. | |
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
Description |
Level |
December 31, 2020 |
||||||
Assets: |
||||||||
Cash and marketable securities held in trust account |
1 | $ | ||||||
Liabilities: |
||||||||
Warrant liability – public warrants |
1 | |||||||
Warrant liability – private placement warrants |
3 | |||||||
Forward purchase agreement liability |
3 | |||||||
The Warrants were accounted for as liabilities in accordance with ASC
815-40
and are presented within warrant liabilities on our balance sheet. The warrant liabilities are measured at fair value at inception and on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value presented within change in fair value of warrant liabilities in the consolidated statement of operations. The Public Warrants were valued at the initial measurement date using a Monte Carlo simulation model, and the Private Placement Warrants were valued at all dates using a Modified Black Scholes model, both of which are considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. For periods subsequent to the detachment of the Public Warrants from the Units, the close price of the public warrants was used as the fair value on the relevant date.
Under each of the Modified Black Scholes model and the Monte Carlo simulation model, the primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the warrants is the expected volatility of the common stock. The expected volatility as of the IPO date was derived from observable public warrant pricing on comparable ‘blank-check’ companies without an identified target. The expected volatility as of the subsequent valuation date was implied from the volatility of Company’s public warrants.
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities:
Private Placement |
Public |
Warrant Liabilities |
||||||||||
Fair value as of August 19, 2020 |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Initial measurement on October 9, 2020 |
||||||||||||
Change in valuation inputs or other assumptions |
||||||||||||
Fair value as of December 31, 2020 |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
F-21
The liability for the FPA was valued using an adjusted net assets method, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. Under the adjusted net assets method utilized, the aggregate commitment of $50 million fixed commitment is recorded on the financial statements. The primary unobservable input utilized in determining the fair value of the FPAs is the continuous risk free rate commensurate with the remaining term to the initial business combination.
50
million pursuant to the FPA is discounted to present value and compared to the fair value of the common stock and warrants to be issued pursuant to the FPA. The fair value of the common stock and warrants to be issued under the FPAs are based on the public trading price of the Units issued in the Company’s IPO. The excess (liability) or deficit (asset) of the fair value of the common stock and warrants to be issued compared to the $The following table presents a summary of the changes in the fair value of the FPA liability, a Level 3 liability, measured on a recurring basis.
FPA Liability |
||||
Fair value, October 6, 2020 |
$ | |||
Recognized loss on change in fair value (1) |
||||
Fair value, December 31, 2020 |
$ | |||
| (1) | Represents the non-cash loss on change in valuation of the FPA liability and is included in Recognized loss on change in fair value of FPA liability on the statement of operations. |
The key inputs into the models for the Private Placement Warrants, Public Warrants and FPA at initial measurement and for the Private Placement Warrants and FPA at December 31, 2020 were as follows:
Input |
October 9, 2020 |
December 31, 2020 |
||||||
Risk-free interest rate |
% | % | ||||||
Trading days per year |
||||||||
Expected volatility |
% | % | ||||||
Exercise price |
$ | $ | ||||||
Stock price |
$ | $ | ||||||
NOTE 11. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date up to the date that the financial statements were issued. Based upon this review, other than as described in Note 2, the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
F-22
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF PERIODIC REPORT UNDER SECTION 302 OF
THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Thomas W. Tomlinson, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 of Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.);
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer 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 report is being prepared;
b) [Reserved]
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 officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
| Date: February 4, 2022 |
By: |
/s/ Thomas W. Tomlinson | ||||
| Thomas W. Tomlinson | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATION OF PERIODIC REPORT UNDER SECTION 302 OF
THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Dominic Bardos, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 of Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.);
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer 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 report is being prepared;
b) [Reserved]
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 officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
| Date: February 4, 2022 |
By: |
/s/ Dominic Bardos | ||||
| Dominic Bardos | ||||||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906
OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report of Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.) (the “Company”) on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Thomas W. Tomlinson, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, do hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
• The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and
• The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company for the periods presented therein.
| Date: February 4, 2022 | By: | /s/ Thomas W. Tomlinson | ||||
| Thomas W. Tomlinson | ||||||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||||
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906
OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with Amendment No. 2 to the Annual Report of Holley Inc. (F/K/A Empower Ltd.) (the “Company”) on Form 10-K/A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Dominic Bardos, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, do hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| • | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and |
| • | The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company for the periods presented therein. |
| Date: February 4, 2022 | By: | /s/ Dominic Bardos | ||||
| Dominic Bardos | ||||||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||||||
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |