Redwire Corp S-1/A, filed Oct 7, 2020
Redwire Corp (RDW)
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As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on October 6, 2020.
Registration No. 333-249066
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Amendment No. 1
to
FORM S-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Cayman Islands | 6770 | 98-1550429 | ||
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
2000 Edwards Street, Suite B
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 489-4650
(Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Registrant’s Principal Executive Offices)
David Bilger
c/o Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
2000 Edwards Street, Suite B
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 489-4650
(Name, Address, Including Zip Code, and Telephone Number, Including Area Code, of Agent For Service)
Copies to:
| William H. Gump Gregory A. Astrachan Angela Olivarez Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP 787 7th Avenue New York, NY 10019 (212) 728-8000 |
Michael Johns Maples and Calder P.O. Box 309, Ugland House Grand Cayman KY1-1104 Cayman Islands (345) 949-8066 |
Joel L. Rubinstein Elliott M. Smith White & Case LLP 1221 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 (212) 819-8200 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.
If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☒ | |||||||
| Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
| TITLE OF EACH CLASS OF SECURITY BEING REGISTERED |
AMOUNT BEING REGISTERED |
PROPOSED MAXIMUM OFFERING PRICE PER SECURITY (1) |
PROPOSED MAXIMUM AGGREGATE OFFERING PRICE (1) |
AMOUNT OF REGISTRATION FEE |
||||||||||||
| Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $0.0001 par value, and one-half of one redeemable warrant (2) |
23,000,000 Units | $ | 10.00 | $ | 230,000,000 | $ | 29,854.00 | |||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares included as part of the units (3) |
23,000,000 Shares | — | — | — | (4) | |||||||||||
| Redeemable warrants included as part of the units (3) |
11,500,000 Warrants | — | — | — | (4) | |||||||||||
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| Total |
$ | 230,000,000 | $ | 29,854.00 | (5) | |||||||||||
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| (1) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. |
| (2) | Includes 3,000,000 units, consisting of 3,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 1,500,000 redeemable warrants, which may be issued upon exercise of a 45-day option granted to the underwriters to cover over-allotments, if any. |
| (3) | Pursuant to Rule 416 under the Securities Act, there are also being registered an indeterminable number of additional securities as may be issued to prevent dilution resulting from share sub-divisions, share dividends or similar transactions. |
| (4) | No fee pursuant to Rule 457(g) under the Securities Act. |
| (5) | Previously paid. |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED OCTOBER 6, 2020
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
$200,000,000
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
20,000,000 Units
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to herein as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
This is an initial public offering of our securities. Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The warrants will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering, and will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or our liquidation, as described in this prospectus. The underwriters have a 45-day option from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 units to cover over-allotments, if any. We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares, or public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account described below as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations and on the conditions described herein. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to applicable law and certain conditions as further described herein.
Our sponsor, Genesis Park Holdings, and Jefferies, an underwriter for this offering, have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 warrants (or 6,600,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate, or $6,600,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of the aggregate warrants to be sold in the private placement, our sponsor has agreed to purchase 5,500,000 warrants (or 6,025,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full) and Jefferies has agreed to purchase 500,000 warrants (or 575,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full).
Our initial shareholders own an aggregate of 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (up to 750,000 shares of which will be surrendered to us for no consideration after the closing of this offering depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option), which will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein.
The managing member of our sponsor, Genesis Park II, LP, which we refer to as “Genesis Park” throughout this prospectus, has expressed to us an intent to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 units in this offering at the public offering price (or 1,150,000 units in the event the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which amounts may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if less than 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are sold in this offering. We have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell such number of units to Genesis Park. For a discussion of certain additional arrangements with Genesis Park, please see “Summary—The Offering—Expression of intent.” In addition, we have been informed that certain of our directors have indicated an interest in purchasing an aggregate of approximately 135,000 units in the offering, although they are not obligated to do so.
Currently, there is no public market for our securities. We have applied to list our units on the New York Stock Exchange, or the NYSE, under the symbol “GNPK.U” We expect that our units will be listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Jefferies LLC, the representative of the underwriters, informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our satisfaction of certain conditions as described further herein. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, we expect that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE under the symbols “GNPK” and “GNPK WS,” respectively.
We are an “emerging growth company” under applicable federal securities laws and will be subject to reduced public company reporting requirements. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 38 for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities. Investors will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings.
Neither the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities may be made to the public in the Cayman Islands.
| PER UNIT | TOTAL | |||||||
| Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | $ | 200,000,000 | ||||
| Underwriting discounts and commissions (1) |
$ | 0.55 | $ | 11,000,000 | ||||
| Proceeds, before expenses, to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. |
$ | 9.45 | $ | 189,000,000 | ||||
| (1) | $0.20 per unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), is payable upon the closing of this offering. Includes $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 (or up to $8,050,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) in the aggregate, payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions to be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on completion of an initial business combination, as described in this prospectus. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Underwriting” beginning on page 170 for a description of compensation and other items of value payable to the underwriters. |
Of the proceeds we receive from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants described in this prospectus, $200.0 million or $230.0 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full ($10.00 per unit in either case) will be deposited into a trust account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2.0 million will be available to pay fees and expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following the closing of this offering.
The underwriters are offering the units for sale on a firm commitment basis. The underwriters expect to deliver the units to the purchasers on or about , 2020.
Sole Book-Running Manager
Jefferies
, 2020
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We are responsible for the information contained in this prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized anyone to provide you with different information, and neither we nor the underwriters take responsibility for any other information others may give to you. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
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This summary only highlights the more detailed information appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the information under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” and our financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before investing. Unless otherwise stated in this prospectus, or the context otherwise requires, references to:
| ∎ | “Companies Law” refers to the Companies Law (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
| ∎ | “founder shares” are to Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders prior to this offering, and the Class A ordinary shares issued upon the conversion thereof as provided herein; |
| ∎ | “Genesis Park” or “GPLP” is to Genesis Park II, LP, the managing member of our sponsor, which has expressed an intent to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 units in this offering at the public offering price (or 1,150,000 units in the event the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which amounts may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if less than 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are sold in this offering; |
| ∎ | “initial shareholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares prior to this offering (or their permitted transferees); |
| ∎ | “Jefferies” are to Jefferies Financial Group Inc., a New York corporation and the sole book-running manager of this offering; |
| ∎ | “management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors and the members of our advisory committee; |
| ∎ | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and our Class B ordinary shares, collectively; |
| ∎ | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor and Jefferies in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering; |
| ∎ | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| ∎ | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial shareholders and members of our management team to the extent our initial shareholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares; provided that each initial shareholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public shareholder” will only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| ∎ | “public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in this offering (whether they are purchased in this offering or thereafter in the open market), to the private placement warrants if held by third parties other than our sponsor (or permitted transferees), and to any private placement warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers of our private placement warrants or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees); |
| ∎ | “sponsor” are to Genesis Park Holdings, a Cayman Islands limited liability company; |
| ∎ | “trust account” are to the trust account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, into which we will deposit certain proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants; |
| ∎ | “warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchaser of the private placement warrants or its permitted transferees; and |
| ∎ | “we,” “us,” “Company” or “our company” are to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. |
Any forfeiture or transfer of shares described in this prospectus 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
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described in this prospectus 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 prospectus will take effect as share capitalizations as a matter of Cayman Islands law.
Unless we tell you otherwise, the information in this prospectus assumes that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option.
General
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to herein as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
We believe that there are many target companies that could become attractive public companies, which is why we will seek a target in any industry or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic region, we will seek to capitalize on the operational and investment experience of our management team and focus on companies that we believe have significant growth prospects with the potential to generate attractive returns for our shareholders. We expect to focus on identifying potential target companies in the aerospace and aviation services sectors with above-industry-average growth, substantial free cash flow generation, and a defensible market position with an enterprise value of $500 million to $1 billion where our management team’s operational, strategic or managerial expertise can assist in maximizing value.
We are led by a preeminent purpose-built team of experienced managers, operators and investors who have played important roles in helping build and grow profitable public and private businesses, both organically and through acquisitions, to create value for shareholders. Our management team, board of directors and advisory committee have extensive experience identifying, evaluating and executing acquisitions, having collectively completed over $70 billion in value-added acquisitions and dispositions. Our team’s expertise spans a wide range of industries, bringing us a diversity of experiences and perspectives.
Management Team and Board of Directors
David N. Siegel will serve as Chairman of our board of directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Siegel has 30 years of experience in the aerospace and aviation industries and possesses deep relationships across the entire aerospace supply chain. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Sun Country Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier (“ULCC”), which he joined in April 2018, and as Chairman of Volotea, a Spanish low-cost airline, which he joined in April 2018. Since October 2017, Mr. Siegel has acted as a Senior Advisor for Apollo Global Management Inc. (“Apollo”) and in that capacity assisted Apollo in the acquisition of portfolio companies Sun Country Airlines and Volotea. From April 2016 to September 2017, Mr. Siegel served as Chief Executive Officer of aircraft leasing company AWAS. During his time as CEO, Mr. Siegel demonstrated his ability to effectively run global operations by managing $8.4 billion in total assets through AWAS’s committed fleet of 261 aircraft across 45 countries. Prior to joining AWAS, Mr. Siegel served as Chief Executive Officer for a number of operators, including Frontier Airlines from 2012 to 2015, XOJET from 2008 to 2010 and US Airways Group, Inc. (formerly NYSE: LCC) (“US Airways”) from 2002 to 2004. At the helm of Frontier Airlines, Mr. Siegel successfully transitioned the airline to become a profitable ULCC in 2014. Prior to running Frontier Airlines, Mr. Siegel was Co-Chairman and CEO of XOJET, where he launched fixed coast-to-coast pricing options that solidified the company’s position as a key player in the transcontinental charter market. In June 2004, Mr. Siegel became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gate Gourmet Group Inc., the world’s largest independent airline catering and logistics provider. Prior to his departure in December 2008, Mr. Siegel guided the company through an operational and financial restructuring that tripled the enterprise value. Additionally, Mr. Siegel
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implemented a strategic mergers and acquisitions growth strategy that created a portfolio of eleven companies, operating under the umbrella brand Gategroup, which specialized in in-flight products and services. After being asked to join US Airways Group as Chief Executive Officer in March 2002, Mr. Siegel successfully guided the company through bankruptcy and returned it to profitability in 2003. Prior to US Airways, Mr. Siegel was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Rent A Car System, Inc., joining six weeks before the September 11th terrorist attacks. While at Avis, Mr. Siegel helped navigate the company through challenging times, including a steep drop in travel demand. He also led Avis’s acquisition of Budget Group for $107.5 million to further grow the leisure segment of the business and create the second largest car rental company in the world, Avis Budget Group. After beginning his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he worked from 1983 to 1990, Mr. Siegel served in various senior management roles at Continental Airlines Holdings (formerly NYSE: CAL) (“Continental”) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (formerly NYSE: NWA) (“Northwest”). Mr. Siegel holds a B.S. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Paul W. Hobby will serve as Chief Executive Officer and Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He is a Founding Partner at Genesis Park LP, a Houston-based private equity firm specializing in growth businesses, distressed situations and public company carveouts. Mr. Hobby maintains extensive relationships with industry-leading aviation executives, private equity firms, family offices and privately owned businesses across the aerospace and aviation sectors. Additionally, he has over 20 years of sourcing experience focused on alignment and partnership with management teams and shareholders. At Genesis Park, directly and through its portfolio companies, Mr. Hobby has recapitalized and redirected ten public company divisions in multiple industries. For two of those transactions, Mr. Hobby served as Chief Executive Officer post-acquisition: (i) at Texas Monthly, LLC from 2016 to 2019 and (ii) at Alpheus Communications, LLC, a fiber optic network and data center provider, from 2004 to 2011. In another carveout from a bankrupt parent, he served as Chairman of CapRock Services, Inc. from 2002 to 2007 and as a director of CapRock from 2007 to 2011. Under his firm’s leadership, the CapRock business grew from $24 million in revenue to over $600 million to become one of the largest providers of satellite services globally. Furthermore, Mr. Hobby has served on the board of directors of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) (“NRG”), a leading integrated power company, since March 2006. In an activist posture, he became a member of the board of directors of Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE:FTK) in March of 2019, where he facilitated the retirement of the incumbent CEO and recruited a new management team to redirect the company. Mr. Hobby is former Chairman of the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Business Hall of Fame, the Texas General Services Commission and the Texas Ethics Commission, and today serves on the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees. He also served on the board of directors of Eagle Global Logistics, Stewart Title, Coastal Banc, Amegy Bank and Aronex Pharmaceuticals. Early in his career, Mr. Hobby served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and as an Associate at Fulbright & Jaworski. Mr. Hobby holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School.
Jonathan E. Baliff will serve as President, Chief Financial Officer and Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He has been a leader in the aviation and infrastructure sector for over 25 years, acting as a public company senior executive in addition to an investment and commercial banker. Most recently, Mr. Baliff was at Bristow Group (formerly NYSE:BRS) (“Bristow”), the world’s largest commercial helicopter and industrial aviation company serving the energy and government sectors, where he served first as Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2014 and President and Chief Executive Officer from 2014 to 2018. During his time at Bristow, the company consistently led its peers in safety, operational and financial performance with over $1.5 billion in business and long-term contract acquisitions. Despite significant turmoil in the offshore transportation services market following the 2014 global oil price collapse, Bristow continued to recognize revenue growth while Bristow’s peer group’s1 revenues fell by an average of ~10% annually with most competitors filing for bankruptcy over the same period. Prior to joining Bristow, Mr. Baliff acted as Executive Vice President for Strategy at NRG (NYSE:NRG), the largest
| 1 | Peer group includes Era Group, Inc., Kirby Corporation, Bourbon SA, SEACOR Holdings Inc., DOF ASA, Solstad Offshore ASA, Tidewater Inc. and Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. |
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independent electric power generator in the United States, from 2007 to 2010. As both a banker to and an employee of NRG, Mr. Baliff was part of the team that led the company out of bankruptcy in 2004 to become a member of the Fortune 500 and systematically changed the company’s business by pursuing a retail customer and low-carbon energy strategy. This strategy included completing over $5 billion in acquisitions including the purchase of Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy, growing the retail footprint of NRG to over three million customers. Prior to NRG, Mr. Baliff acted as a Managing Director in Credit Suisse’s Global Energy Group from 1996 to 2007 and an associate in J.P. Morgan’s Natural Resources Group from 1995 to 1996, where he was responsible for corporate finance and M&A executions during the era of natural gas and electric utility deregulation, with over $50 billion in M&A transactions and financings completed. Additionally, Mr. Baliff served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1985 to 1993 as an aviator flying the F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft. Currently, Mr. Baliff serves on the board of directors and Risk Committee of Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:TCBI) (“TCBI”), the parent company of Texas Capital Bank. Mr. Baliff has served on the Board of TCBI since 2017, during which period the company generated an average annual increase in net income available to common shareholders of 29.1%. Mr. Baliff holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
David Bilger will serve as our Executive Vice President as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Bilger has served as Principal at Genesis Park LP since 2019, where he focuses on sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities in addition to monitoring and developing active portfolio companies. Mr. Bilger previously served as Managing Director at Kuleana Capital, a long / short public equity manager, from 2016 to 2019, and as a private equity investment professional at NGP Energy Capital Management, a private equity firm with $20 billion of cumulative equity commitments, from 2012 to 2014. He began his career in the investment banking division of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Mr. Bilger holds a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Wayne Gilbert West will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, unless the effective date of the registration is prior to October 5, 2020, in which case, Mr. West will serve as a Director as of October 5, 2020. Throughout his over 30 years of experience, Mr. West has held a multitude of leadership roles across the aerospace and aviation industries, including positions at The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) (“Boeing”), Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) (“Delta”), Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) and United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) (“United”). While at Delta, from 2008 to 2020, Mr. West held a variety of roles, including Senior Vice President of Airport Customer Service and Technical Operations, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. While Chief Operating Officer from 2014 to 2020, Mr. West managed a team of over 70,000 employees and was responsible for managing safe, reliable operations globally by overseeing the fleet, technical operations and asset procurement and performance. Prior to joining Delta, Mr. West served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Laidlaw Transit Services Inc., which provided bus transportation through intercity, interstate and interurban bus lines, from 2006 to 2007. After joining TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc. in 2001 as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. West served as President from 2002 to 2005 and was instrumental in achieving the company’s 4-year 5.7% compounded annual growth rate. He also served as an executive at Northwest from 1996 to 2001 and held various managerial positions with United, Rohr Industries, Sundstrand Corporation and Boeing Commercial Aircraft. Mr. West currently serves on the board of directors of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), which he joined in October 2018, and Wheels Up, which he joined in February 2019. Mr. West holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A. from National University in San Diego.
Richard H. Anderson will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Anderson served as Chief Executive Officer of Delta (NYSE:DAL) from September 2007 to May 2016 and was Executive Chairman from May 2016 until his retirement in October 2016. He joined Delta as the company was emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection and played the main
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leadership role in leading Delta to achieve an average annual revenue growth rate of 8.4% and taking the company from a $4.5 billion market capitalization in 2007 to a $29.1 billion market capitalization in 2016. Mr. Anderson led Delta to record profitability – from bankruptcy to GAAP pre-tax income of $7.1 billion and return on invested capital of 28% in 2015, his final year running Delta. Furthermore, in October 2008, Mr. Anderson led Delta to complete the acquisition of Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) for an aggregate value of $2.7 billion. Prior to his time at Delta, Mr. Anderson served as Executive Vice President and President of Commercial Services at UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) (“UnitedHealth”) from 2004 to 2007 and led the formation of Optum. Prior to UnitedHealth, Mr. Anderson was at Northwest, which he joined in 1990 and served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Operating Officer prior to his role as Chief Executive Officer from 2001 to 2004. During his time at Northwest, Mr. Anderson led the company to experience a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 4.4% from 2001 to 2004. Most recently, Mr. Anderson served as the volunteer President and Chief Executive Officer of National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) from June 2017 to April 2020. During his time at Amtrak, the company reported record ridership and revenues and cut operating losses to near breakeven. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the board of directors of Medtronic plc, which he joined in 2004, and the board of directors of Cargill Inc., which he joined in 2006. Mr. Anderson served on the board of directors of Northwest, Delta, Mesaba Aviation, Inc., Xcel Energy Inc. and Securian Financial Group, Inc., and he was elected Chairman of Airlines for America and Chairman of the International Air Transportation Association while CEO at Delta. He also was selected by the FAA as the Chairman of the Next Gen Advisory Committee. Mr. Anderson holds a B.S. from the University of Houston, Clear Lake City, and a J.D. from the South Texas College of Law, Houston.
Andrea Fischer Newman will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. For over 25 years, Ms. Newman has worked at the intersection of business, law, policy and politics. From 2008 to 2017, Ms. Newman served as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Delta. (NYSE:DAL), where she led Delta’s efforts to reform the Export-Import Bank, as well as its work to secure bilateral aviation agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries. While managing government affairs throughout global fuel price increases and the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, Ms. Newman was vital in maintaining and developing strategies to further Delta’s interests domestically and internationally. Prior to Delta, Ms. Newman was at Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) (“Northwest”) for thirteen years, where she served as Vice President from 1995 to 2001 and Senior Vice President from 2001 to 2008. While at Northwest, Ms. Newman helped lead the airline industry in significant initiatives, including legislation impacting airline pensions, global competitiveness and the industry’s response to the September 11th attacks. Ms. Newman also played an active role in the merger and integration of Northwest and Delta and managed government relations through Northwest’s bankruptcy. Earlier on in her career, Ms. Newman was at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone (“Miller, Canfield”) for almost seven years, where she served as Senior Legal Counsel from 1988 to 1992 and Senior Partner from 1992 to 1994. Prior to her time at Miller, Canfield, Ms. Newman served as Deputy Assistant to the Vice President of the United States from 1985 to 1986 and as Special Counsel to the Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1986 to 1987. Ms. Newman currently serves on the board of directors for PrimeFlight Aviation Services, Sun Country Airlines and Sequitur Energy Resources. She holds a B.A. with Honors in History from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Thomas Dan Friedkin will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Friedkin is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Friedkin Group, a privately held consortium of businesses and investments in the automotive, entertainment and hospitality industries. Mr. Friedkin is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf States Toyota, a subsidiary of The Friedkin Group and one of the world’s largest independent distributors of Toyota vehicles and parts, serving more than 150 dealers. Under Mr. Friedkin’s leadership, Gulf States Toyota sold $9 billion of vehicles in 2018. Gulf States Toyota has consistently been recognized by the Houston Chronicle as one of the “Top Private Companies” in Houston and was recognized by Forbes as one of America’s “Best Midsize Employers.” Furthermore, Mr. Friedkin founded media investment company 30West, which controls Neon Group, the company responsible for funding the release and distribution of Oscar best picture, Parasite. Mr. Friedkin also
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founded Imperative Entertainment, which has financially backed major motion films including The Mule, The Square and I, Tonya. In addition to his experience in the media space, Mr. Friedkin also serves as Chairman of Auberge Resorts Collection, a portfolio of luxury hotels, resorts and residences, spanning across eight time zones and three continents. Mr. Friedkin also founded Pursuit Aviation, an aerial photography company that has used their breakthrough platform, known as JETCAM, to pair shot-over camera systems with aerobatic jet aircraft to perform work for acclaimed movies and television, including Dunkirk, Thor and Ray Donovan. Mr. Friedkin has a long history tied to aviation, stemming from his father, a famed aviator and owner of Carlsbad Jet Center, and grandfather, the founder of the discount airline Pacific Southwest Air. Mr. Friedkin holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Rice University.
The past performance of our management team, or their respective affiliates, is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. No member of our management team has been an officer or director of a special purpose acquisition corporation (“SPAC”) in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance.
Each of our officers has agreed not to become a director or officer of any other SPAC with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
Advisory Committee
Nina Jonsson will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Jonsson is a senior international aviation executive with over 30 years of industry experience, including over 20 years at four major airlines: Air France-KLM SA (ENXTPA:AF), United (NASDAQ:UAL), US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC) and Delta (NYSE:DAL). While serving as Director of Fleet Planning for United, Ms. Jonsson grew the company’s owned mainline fleet by 46.7%, or 115 aircraft, from 2006 to 2011. Currently, Ms. Jonsson serves as Senior Advisor for Plane View Partners, LLC and is on the board of directors of Icelandair Group hf. (ICSE:ICEAIR) and FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSXV:FLY). She also has extensive M&A and reorganization experience having worked on major mergers within the aviation space, including United and Continental’s $3.2 billion merger announced in 2010, and has led businesses through various industry cycles. Ms. Jonsson has an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. from University of New Haven.
John S. Bolton will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Bolton has over 30 years of industry executive experience, including seven years as President of Honeywell’s (NYSE:HON) Aerospace Air Transport & Regional business, a $4.7 billion revenue per year global business enterprise that provides original equipment and aftermarket products and services to the aviation segments. He also spent three years as Vice President leading Honeywell’s Aftermarket for the Business & General Aviation Strategic Business Unit, where he leveraged extensive cross-functional, product and customer experience to provide strategic and tactical leadership to this $1.2 billion business. Mr. Bolton is currently the Owner and President of Blu Sky Edge Corp, an aviation commercial propulsion engine leasing and product sales company. Mr. Bolton holds a B.S. from Clarkson University in New York and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
Dave Davis will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Davis currently serves as President, Chief Financial Officer and member of the board of directors of Sun Country Airlines, a private equity-backed low-cost airline providing scheduled passenger, charter and cargo services. Previously, he served as CFO of Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) and US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC), as well as a member of the board of directors of Globecomm Systems Inc., ARINC Corp. and Lumexis Corp. During his eight-year tenure at Northwest, Mr. Davis served in multiple roles, including as
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CFO, where he played a key role in the 2008 merger of Northwest and Delta. Mr. Davis has also served in other senior executive positions, including as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:ENT) (“Global Eagle”), a major provider of inflight connectivity systems, until 2017. While at Global Eagle, he was a key leader in the company’s IPO through a successful SPAC merger in 2013. Mr. Davis holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics degree and an M.B.A., both from the University of Minnesota.
Our Business Strategy and Targeted Industries
We believe that we are well-positioned to identify attractive initial business combination opportunities in the global aerospace and aviation services industries.
| ∎ | The aerospace and aviation services industries have demonstrated a long track record of consistent growth |
| ∎ | Although the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the aerospace and aviation services industries, strong underlying fundamentals and expected recovery create a unique opportunity to invest in the industry |
| ∎ | Our strategy is to acquire a leading market participant that has room to grow through commercial and operational improvements and further acquisitions as the overall aerospace and aviation services industries recover |
The global aerospace industry has demonstrated consistent growth over the last 20+ years, with positive trends impacting commercial passenger airlines, cargo airlines, business aviation and special mission operators. Industry-wide growth has been driven by global GDP growth, with Boeing estimating that global annual passenger traffic has risen at a multiple of 1.7x global GDP over the past 25 years on average. Global GDP growth is supported by emerging markets, with these regions accounting for 60% of the world’s economic growth between 2008 and 2018 and 40% of new passenger air traffic over the last 10 years. Air cargo operators have similarly benefitted from economic growth globally, further supported by the rise of e-commerce and growing consumer confidence.
We believe these are secular trends that will continue to drive opportunities for aircraft operators as well as services providers that offer mission-critical products and services to these businesses. Our business strategy is to focus on all subsectors within the aerospace and aviation services end markets, including aerospace and aviation services providers, whose customers are mainly aircraft operators in passenger, cargo, business aviation or other end markets. Our universe of target companies focuses on businesses that are directly or indirectly impacted by global air traffic trends for one or all of these end markets.
While we remain confident in the long-term growth prospects of the aerospace and aviation services industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges for the sector, resulting in many high-quality companies facing near-term liquidity challenges. We believe this market dynamic creates further opportunity for our team to consummate our initial business combination, as we expect a recovery will be accompanied by a number of restructurings and significant merger and acquisition activity to consolidate the market.
We have specifically formed a preeminent management team, board of directors and advisory committee with significant aerospace and aviation services experience in order to source, evaluate and execute a merger with a company that would benefit from access to the public markets and the skills of our management team. We believe there is a lack of quality public, mid-cap global aerospace and aviation services companies and believe we can address this void in the marketplace. Our team further intends to capitalize on the current and medium-term disruption in the market, and we expect to benefit from a significant recovery in the sector over the next three to five years, representing built-in growth. Our goal is to acquire a target that will be a platform for future add-on acquisitions, with the strategy of becoming a much-needed consolidator of the sector, offering integrated services across aviation end markets.
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The Aerospace and Aviation Services Industries Have Demonstrated a Long Track Record of Consistent Growth
The global aerospace and aviation services industries have experienced multi-decade, secular growth as demonstrated by multiple positive industry dynamics. First, the global fleet count grew 17.8% from 2014, resulting in over 26,000 commercial aircraft in 2018. Global revenue passenger miles (“RPMs”) for commercial airlines have grown to 5.3 trillion in 2018, representing a 5.5% average annual growth over the previous 20 years.
In addition, global air cargo demand has also seen significant growth due to the recent advent of e-commerce. Freight tonne kilometers (“FTKs”), representing global cargo traffic, grew at an average annual rate of 3.2% from 2008 to 2018, supported by global retail e-commerce sales, which were $2.3 trillion in 2017, more than double the $1.1 trillion spent in 2012.
The increase in demand for passenger air traffic has significantly outpaced supply, with available seat miles (“ASMs”) only growing 4.6% on average over the same 20-year period, from 1998 to 2018. This trend is reflected in commercial aircraft load factors, an indicator that measures the percentage of available seating capacity that is filled with passengers, which has increased by 12.6% from 1998 to 2018. This period of strong demand amidst growing capacity has resulted in consistent profits of over $25 billion annually for the global airline industry since 2015.
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Paired with the demonstrated growth of commercial and cargo air traffic, other aircraft operators have similarly benefited from the positive industry dynamics and recognized significant growth. The U.S. business aviation industry has experienced material growth driven by the introduction of new business models and the democratization of private aviation, with flight hours increasing 34% from 2009 to 2018, representing a 3.3% compound annual growth rate. Special mission operators have also experienced material growth as governments and municipalities continue to outsource aircraft operation services such as air ambulance, search and rescue, firefighting, passenger transport charter and Department of Defense contract work.
The growing demand for air traffic across all end markets has fueled financial growth across the various aviation sub-sectors, including businesses that provide services to aircraft operators such as aircraft maintenance, airport services, aircraft and engine leasing and others. Many of these services providers focus on numerous end markets, benefitting from increased spend by commercial airlines, cargo airlines, and other aircraft operators as their businesses grew in response to increased demand. We believe these aerospace and aviation services providers have further benefitted from increased outsourcing trends as operators focus on their core competencies and employ outside businesses to replace previously in-house operations, including supply chain management, aircraft maintenance and a wide range of other services. Boeing forecasts the commercial aviation services market to total $9.1 trillion over the next 20 years, growing at 4.1% annually from 2019 to 2038.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Adversely Affected the Aerospace and Aviation Services Sectors
The long-term growth experienced by the aerospace and aviation services industries continued until the global COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, which adversely affected the industry in an unprecedented manner. In an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, global government agencies enacted travel restrictions and advised citizens to quarantine, materially suppressing air traffic demand. In response to the decreased demand, commercial airlines around the world reduced their capacity by 80% year-over-year in June 2020 and parked as much as 78% of the global fleet in Q2 2020.
In an attempt to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on their businesses, aircraft operators, as they have done in response to previous disruptions, have enacted multiple operational measures to preserve liquidity and cash flow—including limiting flight operations, reducing aircraft orders and deliveries, retiring select aircraft platforms early and pursuing lease deferrals and rental holidays—all of which have meaningfully impacted other sectors of the aerospace supply chain.
Strong Underlying Fundamentals and Expected Recovery Create a Unique Opportunity to Invest in the Industry
Despite the global aerospace and aviation services industries experiencing significant challenges due to COVID-19, most industry professionals expect a steady recovery post-pandemic. Previous industry disruptions, including September 11th, 2001 and the 2008 global financial crisis, resulted in a sudden reduction in demand for air traffic; however, in both instances, traffic recovered to previous levels within three years and was followed by years of consistent year-over-year growth. While IATA expects passenger traffic in 2020 to decline by 63% versus 2019, they forecast RPMs to surpass 2019 levels in 2024. This forecast includes 75% growth in 2021 on depressed 2020 levels. As traffic returns to historical levels, services providers whose businesses are driven by aircraft movements or flight hours are likely to experience a correlated recovery in demand.
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Demand Drivers Have Shown Consistent Near-Term Resiliency Following Periods of Disruption
This forecasted recovery is supported by recent positive data points, including (i) air travel-related Google searches up 25% and (ii) flight volumes in June 2020 increased to ~14% of 2019 levels versus 9% of 2019 levels in May 2020. This recent recovery is being driven largely by domestic markets, with international air travel expected to begin seeing improvement as restrictions are lifted. Operators have begun to increase capacity in expectation of returned demand, with June 2020 domestic ASKs at 44% of 2019 levels (versus 31% in May). This slow re-introduction of capacity has also resulted in airlines bringing parked aircraft back into the active fleet.
Air cargo traffic is also beginning to see signs of recovery with May 2020 levels down only 20% year-over-year and June 2020 levels only 18% below June 2019 as manufacturing output stabilized globally and certain government travel bans were lifted. Separately, while demand for passenger and cargo airline traffic is returning, so is the demand for private aviation travel, but at a much faster rate. Private aviation operators are reporting increased demand volumes and Argus International, an aviation industry market intelligence company, reported that private aviation flight activity has returned to 80% of pre-COVID levels as of July 2020. Additionally, many private aviation operators are stating that they are responding to an unprecedented level of inbounds from potential new clients, reflecting an expansion of the total addressable market for private aviation operators. This recovery experienced by aircraft operators will directly result in growth of aerospace and aviation services businesses, which depend on air traffic trends to drive demand for their services.
While we have confidence in the expected recovery of the aerospace and aviation services sectors, many high-quality companies will continue to face growth concerns in the medium-term. Many of these businesses have either received support from government agencies or short-term relief from banks, although we believe that this funding will not be sufficient to support business growth or acquisitions throughout the recovery period.
We therefore believe that the financial and human capital we can provide will be critical as the aerospace and aviation services sectors’ revenue historically recovers faster than their airline and air cargo clients, as equipment and facilities need to be updated ahead of the demand upturn. In addition, airline and air cargo clients historically outsource more services both in kind and in amounts higher than before industry-wide disruptions. The industry-wide disruption due to COVID-19, when paired with these high-quality companies’ strong competitive positions and management teams, presents a unique opportunity for us to capitalize on attractive valuations while benefiting from significant built-in growth over the next three to five years.
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Our Strategy is to Acquire a Leading Market Participant that Can Grow through Commercial and Operational Improvements and Further Acquisitions as the Overall Aerospace and Aviation Services Industries Recover
We will provide permanent capital to a business that primarily operates in the aerospace and aviation services sectors. Our goal is to acquire a business in our target industries with leading market positions and strong business fundamentals that can serve as a platform for additional acquisitions and benefit from operational improvements to enhance shareholder value and create a premier mid-cap public aerospace and aviation services company. Many of these leading businesses have had very little exposure to mid-cap public investors, as they have grown through family or private equity ownership. Our target business will significantly benefit from the experience and proven track record of our preeminent purpose-built management team, board of directors and advisory committee with over 325 cumulative years of relevant business and financial experience and a record of over $70 billion in value-added acquisitions. We believe that the present market conditions present an opportune time to acquire businesses at historically low valuations and generate attractive returns for our shareholders. We anticipate that our initial business combination target will be a platform for future add-on acquisitions with the goal of becoming an integrated provider offering a broad range of services across the global aerospace and aviation services end markets and a premier, public aerospace and aviation services company. We intend to focus on target businesses that offer differentiated products and services to commercial passenger airlines, cargo airlines or other aircraft operators.
We will seek to effectively employ our management team, board of directors and advisory committee’s industry skills and experience as well as their extensive personal network to add substantial value to any acquired company. These benefits include the following:
| ∎ | Expertise in growing successful aerospace and aviation services companies: Our management team, board of directors and advisory committee have a track record of founding, building, growing and investing in aerospace and aviation services companies. We believe we can leverage our differentiated industry experiences to acquire target businesses at historically attractive valuations and assist these businesses in their recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and grow these businesses on a global scale. We are confident in our ability to identify and pursue efficiencies in target companies and create operational leverage. |
| ∎ | Ability to complement and support strong executive teams: Members of our management team, board of directors and advisory committee have served on public and private boards of directors within the aerospace and aviation services markets. They have played a critical role in identifying and overseeing numerous acquisitions and have a demonstrated track record of successfully managing purpose-built platforms. We believe they can effectively work with exceptional management teams in target companies to provide significant competitive insight and drive value to shareholders. We believe the long-standing relationships of our management team, board of directors and advisory committee with proven industry executives and investors give us a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining premium talent within the industry. |
| ∎ | Maximize the value of becoming a publicly traded entity: As a public entity, we believe we offer a wide range of advantages to stakeholders. These include but are not limited to broader access to debt and equity for growth; an acquisition currency, provision of wealth creation for employees; and expansion of branding in the marketplace. |
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Acquisition Criteria
When we evaluate candidate companies, we expect to use the following, non-exclusive criteria for determining opportunities.
| ∎ | Services and End Market Focus: We intend to pursue targets that provide the following types of services to one or a combination of commercial passenger airlines, cargo airlines, business aviation operators or special mission operators: |
| BUSINESS TYPE / SERVICE OFFERING | ||
| Asset Management |
Aircraft and engine leasing, aircraft management | |
| Aircraft Services |
Aircraft maintenance, distribution, supply chain management | |
| Airport Services |
Cargo and ground handling, passenger support services | |
| Aerospace Technology |
Aviation software, predictive maintenance, continuing airworthiness management organization (“CAMO”) | |
| Operators |
Cargo, passenger transport, special mission, private aviation operators | |
| ∎ | Size: We intend to target entities whose enterprise value is between $500 million and $1 billion. These companies have a strong standing with either U.S. clients or European clients, as well as an international following. |
| ∎ | Strong Industry and Competitive Position: We intend to target companies that have built a strong, defensible niche within the aerospace and aviation services market. Our target companies have likely experienced significant disruption to their businesses due to COVID-19 but are characterized by robust business fundamentals including strong customer relationships, recurring revenue streams and positive industry trends in the long-term. |
| ∎ | Attractively Valued: We are disciplined, valuation-centric investors with a demonstrated history of strong returns in both the public and private markets. We are committed to investing in companies that are attractively valued relative to their public comparable companies and would similarly benefit from post-closing add-on acquisitions. We believe there are a significant number of actionable opportunities due to the large percentage of private equity-based businesses operating in the aerospace and aviation services sectors and intend to capitalize on current market dynamics to acquire businesses in the sector at attractive valuations. |
| ∎ | Public Readiness: We intend to invest in strong management teams that could benefit from our extensive networks and insights within the aerospace and aviation services sectors. We believe our history of deeply rooted relationships with industry executives, as well as leading private and public equity investors, will assist us in finding an attractive business that will benefit from being public. |
Our Business Combination Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive due diligence review which will encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry.
We are not prohibited from pursuing our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers or from making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, directors, officers or their affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
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Each of our directors and officers may, directly or indirectly, own founder shares and/or private placement warrants following this offering and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, such directors and officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such directors and officers was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Certain of our directors and officers currently have, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to another entity pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity subject to his or her fiduciary duties. If any of our directors or officers becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us.
No members of our management team have any obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member specifically in his or her capacity as an officer or a director of the company. Members of our management team may be required to present potential business combinations to other entities to whom they have fiduciary duties before they present such opportunities to us. Any knowledge or presentation of such opportunities may therefore present conflicts of interest.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Initial Business Combination
Our initial business combination must occur with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business for the post-acquisition company to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target or assets sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on
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valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for the purposes of a tender offer or for seeking shareholder approval, as applicable.
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. In addition, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination to be used following the closing for general corporate purposes as described above. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our sponsors, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Corporate Information
Our offices are located at 2000 Edwards Street, Suite B, Houston, Texas, and our telephone number is (713) 489-4650.
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 which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or
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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.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is 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 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period. References herein to “emerging growth company” shall have the meaning associated with it in the JOBS Act.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 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 30th, or (2) our annual revenues exceed $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 30th.
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THE OFFERING
In deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the backgrounds of the members of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company and the fact that this offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section below entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 38 of this prospectus.
| Securities offered |
20,000,000(2) units, at $10.00 per unit, each unit consisting of: |
| ∎ | one Class A ordinary share; and |
| ∎ | one-half of one redeemable warrant. |
| Proposed NYSE symbols |
Units: “GNPK.U” |
| Class A ordinary shares: “GNPK” |
| Warrants: “GNPK WS” |
| Trading commencement and separation of Class A ordinary shares and warrants |
The units are expected to begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Jefferies LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. |
| In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC containing an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
| 2 | Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
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Units:
| Number outstanding before this offering |
0 |
| Number outstanding after this offering |
20,000,000(2) |
Ordinary Shares:
| Number outstanding before this offering |
5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares(3) |
| Number outstanding after this offering |
25,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares(2)(4) |
Redeemable Warrants:
| Number of private placement warrants to be sold in a private placement simultaneously with this offering |
6,000,000(2) |
| Number of warrants to be outstanding after this offering and the private placement |
16,000,000(2) |
| Exercisability |
Each whole warrant is exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share. Only whole warrants are exercisable. |
| No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. |
| We structured each unit to contain one-half of one warrant, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary shares, as compared to units issued by some other similar blank check companies that contain one whole warrant exercisable for one share, in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of our initial business combination as compared to units that each contain one warrant exercisable for one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. |
| Exercise price |
$11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described herein. In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account |
| 3 | Includes 750,000 shares that will be surrendered to us for no consideration by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option. |
| 4 | Comprised of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares. The Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as described herein adjacent to the caption “Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights.” |
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| any founder shares held by our sponsor or its affiliates, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of our ordinary shares during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we consummate our initial business combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described below under “Redemption of warrants” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. |
| Exercise period |
The warrants will become exercisable on the later of: |
| ∎ | 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, and |
| ∎ | 12 months from the closing of this offering; |
| provided, in each case, that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. |
| We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we will have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. |
| Notwithstanding the above, if our ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require |
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| 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, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. |
| The warrants will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, five years after the completion of our initial business combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. On the exercise of any warrant, the warrant exercise price will be paid directly to us and not placed in the trust account. |
| Redemption of warrants and cashless exercise |
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except as described herein with respect to the private placement warrants): |
| ∎ | in whole and not in part; |
| ∎ | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| ∎ | upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, which we refer to as the 30-day redemption period; and |
| ∎ | if, and only if, the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrantholders. |
| We will not redeem the warrants unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in this offering. |
| If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the |
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| dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrant by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” for additional information. |
| None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. |
| Expression of intent |
Genesis Park has expressed to us an intent to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 units in this offering at the public offering price (or 1,150,000 units in the event the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which amounts may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if fewer than 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are sold in this offering. We have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell to Genesis Park such number of units at the public offering price. In the event that Genesis Park purchases such units (either in this offering or after) and votes them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that other public shareholders holding only 6,500,001 of the other public shares would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction, of which an aggregate of 135,000 shares may be held by certain of our directors who have indicated an interest in purchasing such number of units in this offering, although they are not obligated to do so. Any units purchased by Genesis Park (and their constituent Class A ordinary shares and warrants) will not be subject to the restrictions on transfer applicable to the founder shares and private placement warrants. As a result of the founder shares, private placement warrants and units that Genesis Park may hold (directly or indirectly), it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public shareholders. |
| Genesis Park will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units it purchases in this offering as the rights afforded to our public shareholders. |
| Founder shares |
As of the date hereof, our sponsor holds 5,750,000 founder shares, 750,000 of which are subject to surrender for no consideration to the extent the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option. |
| The number of founder shares issued and outstanding was determined based on the expectation that the founder shares would represent 20% |
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| of the outstanding shares after this offering. As such, our initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of our issued and outstanding shares after this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Up to an aggregate 750,000 founder shares will be surrendered for no consideration by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option so that our initial shareholders will maintain ownership of 20% of our ordinary shares after this offering. We will effect a share dividend or share contribution prior to this offering should the size of the offering change, in order to maintain such ownership percentage. |
| The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, except that: |
| ∎ | the founder shares are Class B ordinary shares that automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights as described herein; |
| ∎ | the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below; |
| ∎ | the Class A ordinary shares issued or issuable upon conversion of founder shares are entitled to registration rights; |
| ∎ | our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to their founder shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, 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 and (iv) vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. |
| If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, 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 |
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| vote thereon who vote at a general meeting. As a result of the agreement of our sponsor, officers and directors to vote their shares in favor of our initial business combination, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (or 7,365,001, or 36.8%, if certain of our directors purchase an aggregate of 135,000 units in this offering), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of our initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of which Genesis Park may hold 1,000,000 shares. |
| Transfer restrictions on founder shares |
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 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 shareholders having the right to exchange their ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up. |
| Founder shares conversion and anti-dilution rights |
The founder shares are Class B ordinary shares that will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described herein. In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one for one basis. |
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| Appointment of directors; Voting rights |
Prior to the completion of 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 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. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by holders representing at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our shareholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law or the applicable rules of the NYSE then in effect, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares will vote together as a single class, with each share entitling the holder to one vote. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that our board of directors will be 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. |
| Private placement warrants |
Our sponsor and Jefferies, an underwriter for this offering, have committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 warrants (or 6,600,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate, or $6,600,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of the aggregate warrants to be sold in the private placement, our sponsor has agreed to purchase 5,500,000 warrants (or 6,025,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full) and Jefferies has agreed to purchase 500,000 warrants (or 575,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full). A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that, at the time of closing, $200.0 million (or $230.0 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. |
| The private placement warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees, the |
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| private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering. |
| Transfer restrictions on private placement warrants |
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) held by our sponsor will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Additionally, for so long as the private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The private placement warrants have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Additionally, the private placement warrants (and the underlying securities) purchased by Jefferies may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of this prospectus except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriters and any such participating selected dealer. The private placement warrants (and the underlying securities) purchased by Jefferies will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). |
| Cashless exercise of private placement warrants |
If holders of private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted |
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| transferees is because, in the case of our sponsor and its permitted transferees, it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination and, in the case of Jefferies and its permitted transferees, our sponsor and Jefferies agreed that the private placement warrants purchased by Jefferies would have the same terms as the private placement warrants purchase by our sponsor. If our sponsor or any of its permitted transferees remain affiliated with us, their ability to sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material nonpublic information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could sell the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate. |
| Proceeds to be held in trust account |
NYSE rules provide that at least 90% of the gross proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants be deposited in a trust account. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $200,000,000, or $10.00 per unit ($230,000,000, or $10.00 per unit, if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be placed into a trust account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and $2,000,000 (regardless of the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option) will be used to pay expenses in connection with the closing of this offering and for working capital following this offering. |
| These proceeds include $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) in deferred underwriting commissions. |
| Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, will not be released from the trust account until the earliest of (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (i) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and |
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| (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of our creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of our public shareholders. |
| Anticipated expenses and funding sources |
Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, no proceeds held in the trust account will be available for our use, except the withdrawal of interest to pay our taxes and/or to redeem our public shares in connection with an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, as described above. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government securities with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We will disclose in each quarterly and annual report filed with the SEC prior to our initial business combination whether the proceeds deposited in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury obligations or money market funds or a combination thereof. Based upon current interest rates, we expect the trust account to generate approximately $1,000,000 of interest annually assuming an interest rate of 0.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurances regarding this amount. Unless and until we complete our initial business combination, we may pay our expenses only from: |
| ∎ | the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not held in the trust account, which will be approximately $1,000,000 in working capital after the payment of approximately $1,000,000 in expenses relating to this offering; and |
| ∎ | any loans or additional investments from our sponsor, or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors, although they are under no obligation to advance funds or invest in us, and provided that any such loans will not have any claim on the proceeds held in the trust account unless such proceeds are released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant, at the option of the lender. |
| Conditions to completing our initial business combination |
NYSE rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently |
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| determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. |
| We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. However, we may structure our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the NYSE’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of seeking shareholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable. |
| Permitted purchases of public shares and public warrants by our |
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial |
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| business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares or warrants our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing our securities during certain blackout periods when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) clear all trades of company securities with a compliance officer prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. 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. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination. See “Proposed Business—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction. Our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will not make any purchases if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. |
| The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial |
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| business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. |
| Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them and any public shares they may acquire during or after this offering in connection with the completion of our initial business combination or otherwise. |
| Manner of conducting redemptions |
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issue and outstanding ordinary shares or |
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| seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to comply with the NYSE’s shareholder approval rules. |
| The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the NYSE. Such provisions may be amended if approved by 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. |
| If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a general meeting, we will: |
| ∎ | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
| ∎ | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
| If we seek 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 who vote at a general meeting. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (or 7,365,001, or 36.8%, if certain of our directors purchase an aggregate of 135,000 units in this offering), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of which Genesis Park may hold 1,000,000 shares. We intend to give not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’ prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it |
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| more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction. |
| If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will: |
| ∎ | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| ∎ | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination, which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
| In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination. |
| Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act. |
| We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public |
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| shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares. |
| Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial 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 initial 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 initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof. |
| Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of |
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, 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 will 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 this offering, without our prior consent. We believe the restriction described above will discourage |
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| shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to redeem their shares as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights against an initial business combination if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem to no more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including all shares held by those shareholders that hold more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering) for or against our initial business combination. |
| Redemption rights in connection with |
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public 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 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; 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 holders representing at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting. Our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), 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. Our sponsor, executive officers, and directors have |
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| 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 to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable) divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. |
| Release of funds in trust account on |
On the completion of our initial business combination, the funds held in the trust account will be used to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination.” We will use the remaining funds to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. |
| Redemption of public shares and distribution and liquidation if no initial business combination |
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month 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 |
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| amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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 complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period. |
| Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission held in the trust account in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and subsequently liquidate and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the funds held in the trust account that will be available to fund the redemption of our public shares. |
| Limited payments to insiders |
There will be no finder’s fees, reimbursement, consulting fee, non-cash payments, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, the following payments may be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates, none of which will be made from the proceeds of this offering held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination: |
| ∎ | Repayment of up to an aggregate of up to $300,000 in loans made to us by our sponsor to cover offering-related and organizational expenses; |
| ∎ | Reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing an initial business combination; and |
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| ∎ | Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, the terms of which have not been determined nor have any written agreements been executed with respect thereto. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or its affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
| Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. |
| Audit Committee |
We will establish and maintain an audit committee to, among other things, monitor compliance with the terms described above and the other terms relating to this offering. If any noncompliance is identified, then the audit committee will be charged with the responsibility to immediately take all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise to cause compliance with the terms of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management —Committees of the Board of Directors—Audit Committee.” |
| Indemnity |
Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable; provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable), nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, and 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. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties, including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. |
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RISKS
We are a blank check company that has conducted no operations and has generated no revenues to date. Until we complete our initial business combination, we will have no operations and will generate no operating revenues. In making your decision whether to invest in our securities, you should take into account not only the background of our management team, but also the special risks we face as a blank check company. This offering is not being conducted in compliance with Rule 419 promulgated under the Securities Act. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors in Rule 419 blank check offerings. For additional information concerning how Rule 419 blank check offerings differ from this offering, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.” You should carefully consider these and the other risks set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 38 of this prospectus.
SUMMARY FINANCIAL DATA
The following table summarizes the relevant financial data for our business and should be read with our financial statements, which are included in this prospectus. We have not had any significant operations to date, so only balance sheet data is presented.
| JULY 30, 2020 |
||||
| (Unaudited) | ||||
| Working capital (deficiency) |
$ | (80,111 | ) | |
| Total assets |
$ | 100,000 | ||
| Total liabilities |
$ | 80,111 | ||
| Shareholder’s equity |
$ | 19,889 | ||
If no business combination is completed within 24 months from the closing of this 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 taxes (less $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares. Our sponsor, directors, director nominees and officers have entered into a letter 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 held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period.
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An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should consider carefully all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before making a decision to invest in our units. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
We are a blank check company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a recently incorporated blank check company established under the laws of the Cayman Islands with no operating results, and we will not commence operations until obtaining funding through this offering. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning an initial 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.
Our public shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, and even if we hold a vote, holders of our founder shares will participate in such vote, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination would require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements. In such case, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Even if we seek shareholder approval, the holders of our founder shares will participate in the vote on such approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete. Please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination” for additional information.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Pursuant to a letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (or 7,365,001, or 36.8%, if certain of our directors purchase an aggregate of 135,000 units in this offering), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of which Genesis Park may hold 1,000,000 shares. Our initial shareholders will own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares immediately following the completion of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial shareholders 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.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your redemption rights, unless we seek shareholder approval of the initial business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Accordingly, if we do not seek shareholder approval, your only opportunity
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to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights in connection with the closing of our 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 an agreement for an initial business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into an initial business combination 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 initial business combination. Furthermore, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 as described above upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition, each as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into an initial business combination agreement 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 our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third-party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B ordinary shares results in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters is not required to 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 deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming shareholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public shareholders to 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 trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time, our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with your exercise of redemption rights until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
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The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability 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 an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. Consequently, such target business may have leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we must complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, political considerations, 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 United States and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future 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 COVID-19 may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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. In such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public holders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial 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, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants or a combination thereof, in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market, either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. 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
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funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions. See “Proposed Business—Permitted Purchases of Our Securities” for a description of how our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or any of their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase securities from in any private transaction.
Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such shareholder, although still the record holder of our shares, is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately-negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The price per share paid in any such transactions may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if such public shareholder elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. 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.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a 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 submitting or tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or submit public shares for redemption. For example, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent, or to deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business — Submitting Share Certificates in Connection with Redemption Rights.”
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier 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
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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 this 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 this 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 this offering, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. 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 have applied to have our units listed on the NYSE. We expect that our units will be listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. Following the date the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be separately listed on the NYSE. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE. Although after giving effect to this offering we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NYSE listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or 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. Generally, we must maintain a minimum number of holders of our securities (400 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s 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. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time. 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 over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
| ∎ | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| ∎ | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| ∎ | a determination that our Class A ordinary shares are a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A ordinary shares to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| ∎ | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| ∎ | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our
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securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the U.S. securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the successful completion of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and will file a Current Report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if this offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. For a more detailed comparison of our offering to offerings that comply with Rule 419, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419.”
If we seek 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 will 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess similar or greater technical, human and other resources to ours, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the
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acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the Class A ordinary shares which our public shareholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
If the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months following the closing of this offering, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that, upon the closing of this offering, the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the next 24 months; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed initial business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $1,000,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, or any affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers and directors is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek advances or loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors below.
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Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our share price, and 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 that may be present within a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination or thereafter. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, 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 enter into an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to us, and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if our management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in our best interests under the circumstances. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering, will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable; provided
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that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations, and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. 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. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties, including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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 share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest, which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors, in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties, may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. 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 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 (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and not to seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. 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 court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public 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 laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our 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.
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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 law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy 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.
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; |
| ∎ | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| ∎ | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in U.S. “government securities,” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. This offering is not intended for persons who are seeking a return on investments in government securities or investment securities. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination within 24 months from the
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closing of this 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 an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances described herein, 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 will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly.
Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.
Our 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. Claims may 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.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our shareholders to appoint directors.
We may not hold an annual general meeting until after we consummate a business combination (unless required by the NYSE). As an exempted company, 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.
We are not registering 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. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.
We are not registering 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
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soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption 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 will 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. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were initially offered by us in this offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our private warrants may be able to exercise such private warrants.
If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
Under the following circumstances, the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis: (i) If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption; (ii) if our ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement; and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available; and (iii) if we call the public warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days
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ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer Class A ordinary shares from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.
The grant of registration rights to our initial shareholders and Jefferies 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 to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, our initial shareholders, Jefferies and their respective permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of private placement warrants, the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of the founder shares and the private placement warrants held, or to be held, by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register the resale of such warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares that is expected when the securities owned by our initial shareholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered for resale.
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 will seek to complete an initial business combination with companies in a variety of industries, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination 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 shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Past performance by our management team and their affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team or businesses associated with them is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by our management team is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of the performance of our management team’s or businesses associated with them as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the Company or the returns the Company will, or is likely to, generate going forward.
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We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors that may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
Although our management team has expertise across a variety of industries and sectors, we will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in a sector or industry in which a member of our management team has expertise after having expended a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in this offering than a direct investment, if such an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this prospectus regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to ascertain or assess adequately all of the relevant risk factors. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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 law, 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 are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances as described herein, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model or with limited historic financial data, volatile revenues or earnings, intense competition and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the relevant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the target(s) of our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board of directors cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses (including with the assistance of financial advisors), 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 company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
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 Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions 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.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 230,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 2,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. Immediately after this offering, there will be 210,000,000 and 15,000,000 (assuming, in each case, that the underwriters have not exercised their over-allotment option) authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the Class A ordinary shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of Class B ordinary shares. Immediately after the consummation of this offering, there will be no preference shares issued and outstanding. Class B ordinary shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination.
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 (although our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to receive funds from the trust account or vote on any initial business combination or on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account, (ii) vote on any initial business combination or (iii) vote on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity. 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 the approval of our shareholders. However, our 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 to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their 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 (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.
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The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| ∎ | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering; |
| ∎ | 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 of control if a substantial number of our 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; and |
| ∎ | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants. |
Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons, including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors herein.
We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse United States federal income taxes consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—General”) of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants, the U.S. Holder may be subject to adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences and may be subject to additional reporting requirements. Our PFIC status for our current and subsequent taxable years may depend on whether we qualify for the PFIC start-up exception (see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules”). Depending on the particular circumstances the application of the start-up exception may be subject to uncertainty, and there cannot be any assurance that we will qualify for the start-up exception. Accordingly, there can be no assurances with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year (and, in the case of the startup exception, potentially not until after the two taxable years following our current 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 be unavailable with respect to our warrants in all cases. We urge U.S. investors to consult their own tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules. For a more detailed explanation of the tax consequences of PFIC classification to U.S. Holders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—U.S. Holders—Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules.”
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Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination 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 initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
We are dependent upon our officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our officers and directors and the members of our advisory committee. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers, directors and the members of our advisory committee, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our 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 their business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence, negotiations and other activities. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements as well as reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, if any, with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation or reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses, if any, 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 the combined company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Additionally, they may negotiate reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on our behalf prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, should they choose to do so. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial 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 initial business combination, or as reimbursement for such out-of-pocket expenses. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
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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, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any shareholders who choose to remain shareholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such shareholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Our 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 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 an initial business combination and their other businesses. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination. For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs, please see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Directors and Officers.”
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of this offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities that may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.
Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
For a complete discussion of our officers’ and directors’ business Conflict of Interests and the potential conflicts of interest that you should be aware of, please see the sections of this prospectus entitled “Management—Officers, Directors and Director Nominees,” “Management—Conflicts of Interest” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
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Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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. If this were the case, it would be a breach of their fiduciary duties to us as a matter of Cayman Islands law and we or our shareholders might have a claim against such individuals for infringing on our shareholders’ rights. However, we might not ultimately be successful in any claim we may make against them for such reason.
We may engage in an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders that may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning an initial business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for an initial business combination as set forth in the section of this prospectus entitled “Proposed Business—Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, regarding the fairness to the Company and our shareholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest. These risks may become more acute as the 24-month deadline for the completion of our initial business combination.
Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (except with respect to any public shares the may hold), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In July 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (up to an aggregate of 750,000 shares of which will be surrendered for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination.
In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 (or 6,075,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00
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per warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this prospectus to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following this offering, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ∎ | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ∎ | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ∎ | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| ∎ | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| ∎ | our inability to pay dividends on our 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 ordinary shares if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| ∎ | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ∎ | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| ∎ | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| ∎ | other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may be able to complete only one business combination with the proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business, which may have a limited number of products or services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to $7,000,000, or up to $8,050,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account).
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
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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. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately-held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in an initial 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.
We may structure an initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the 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 initial 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 ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction
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could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding 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 our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete an 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 we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. 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 initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial 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 an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and 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 not less than 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 a majority of the public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of our warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, a majority of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our
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charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of 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, 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 and the trust agreement 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 a company’s pre-business combination activity, 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 will provide that any of its provisions related to pre-business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public 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 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; 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 holders representing at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting. Our initial shareholders, and their permitted transferees, if any, who will collectively beneficially own, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our Class A ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants and assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), 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, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their 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, net of taxes), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our shareholders would need to pursue a shareholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.
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Our letter agreement with our sponsor, directors, director nominees, and officers may be amended without shareholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our sponsor, directors, director nominees, and officers contains provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and sponsor warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidation distributions from the trust account. This letter agreement may be amended without shareholder approval (although releasing the parties from the restriction not to transfer our founder shares for 180 days following the date of this prospectus will require the prior written consent of the underwriters). While we do not expect our board to approve any amendment to this agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to this agreement. Any such amendments to the letter agreement would not require approval from our shareholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
We have not selected any specific business combination target but intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemption by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, or to fund the purchase of other companies. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes 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. None of our sponsor, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. Furthermore, as described in the risk factor entitled “—If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share,” under certain circumstances our public shareholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon the liquidation of the trust account.
Our initial shareholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Upon the closing of this offering, our initial shareholders will own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial shareholders purchase any units in this offering or if our initial shareholders purchase any additional ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately-negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our initial shareholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for
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a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting of shareholders 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 initial 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 initial shareholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial shareholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our sponsor paid a nominal price for the founder shares, and, accordingly, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution from the purchase of our Class B ordinary shares.
The difference between the public offering price per share (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary shares and none to the warrant included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to you and the other investors in this offering. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, significantly contributing to this dilution. Upon the closing of this offering, and assuming no value is ascribed to the warrants included in the units, you and the other public shareholders will incur an immediate and substantial dilution of approximately 91.8% (or $9.18 per share, assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option), the difference between the pro forma net tangible book value per share of $0.82 and the initial offering price of $10.00 per unit. In addition, because of the anti-dilution rights of the founder shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares and would be exacerbated to the extent the public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust account.
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 a majority 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 Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants 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 of public warrants if holders of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least a majority of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or shares, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant; provided that the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption to the warrant holders and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were initially offered by us in this offering. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your
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warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We will be issuing warrants to purchase 10,000,000 Class A ordinary shares (or up to 11,500,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) as part of the units offered by this prospectus and, simultaneously with the closing of this offering, we will be issuing in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 (or up to 6,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) Class A ordinary shares at $11.50 per share. Our initial shareholders currently own an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares, 750,000 of which will be surrendered for no consideration if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised. The founder shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
To the extent we issue Class A ordinary shares to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance 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 initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in this offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis and (iv) the holders thereof (including with respect to Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of such warrants) are entitled to registration rights.
Because each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies.
Each unit contains one-half of one redeemable warrant. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one warrant to purchase one share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of an initial business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one half of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive business combination partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one share.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for use to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike some other blank check companies, if
| (i) | we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share, |
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| (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 price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
The determination of the offering price of our units, the size of this offering and terms of the units is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities and size of an offering of an operating company in a particular industry. You may have less assurance, therefore, that the offering price of our units properly reflects the value of such units than you would have in a typical offering of an operating company.
Prior to this offering there has been no public market for any of our securities. The public offering price of the units and the terms of the warrants were negotiated between us and the underwriters. In determining the size of this offering, management held customary organizational meetings with representatives of the underwriters, both prior to our inception and thereafter, with respect to the state of capital markets, generally, and the amount the underwriters believed they reasonably could raise on our behalf. Factors considered in determining the size of this offering, prices and terms of the units, including the Class A ordinary shares and warrants underlying the units, include:
| ∎ | the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies; |
| ∎ | prior offerings of those companies; |
| ∎ | our prospects for acquiring an operating business; |
| ∎ | a review of debt to equity ratios in leveraged transactions; |
| ∎ | our capital structure; |
| ∎ | an assessment of our management and their experience in identifying operating companies; |
| ∎ | general conditions of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| ∎ | other factors as were deemed relevant. |
Although these factors were considered, the determination of our offering size, price and terms of the units is more arbitrary than the pricing of securities of an operating company in a particular industry since we have no historical operations or financial results.
There is currently no market for our securities and a market for our securities may not develop, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
There is currently no market for our securities. Shareholders therefore have no access to information about prior market history on which to base their investment decision. Following this offering, the price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions. Furthermore, an active trading market for our securities may never develop or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a market can be established and sustained.
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 the proxy statement with respect to the vote on an initial business combination include historical and pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”) depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit
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the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and 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 accountant standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Rule 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 end of the prior June 30th, 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 30th. 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.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 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 be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our
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internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.
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 will 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.
Because we are incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands, you may face difficulties in protecting your interests, and your ability to protect your rights through the U.S. federal courts may be limited.
We are an exempted company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands. As a result, it may be difficult for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon our directors or executive officers, or enforce judgments obtained in the United States courts against our directors or officers.
Our corporate affairs and the rights of shareholders will be 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 will also be subject to the federal securities laws of the United States. The rights of shareholders to take action against the directors, actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman Islands as well as from English common law, the decisions of whose courts are of persuasive authority, but are not binding on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman Islands law are different from what they would be under statutes or judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular, the Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States, and certain states, such as Delaware, may have more fully developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law. In addition, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to initiate a shareholders derivative action in a Federal court of the United States. For a more detailed discussion of the principal differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and, for example, the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders, see the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities—Certain Differences in Corporate Law.”
Shareholders of Cayman Islands exempted companies like the Company have no general rights under Cayman Islands law to inspect corporate records or to obtain copies of the register of members of these companies. Our directors have discretion under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to determine whether or not, and under what conditions, our corporate records may be inspected by our shareholders, but are not obliged to make them available to our shareholders. This may make it more difficult for you to obtain the information needed to establish any facts necessary for a shareholder motion or to solicit proxies from other shareholders in connection with a proxy contest.
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
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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.
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.
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) pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has adversely affected 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 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 and decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Finally, the outbreak of COVID-19 may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities and cross-border transactions.
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If we effect our initial business combination with a company with locations or operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we effect our initial business combination with a company with locations or operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ∎ | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| ∎ | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ∎ | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ∎ | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| ∎ | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ∎ | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ∎ | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ∎ | tax issues, including, but not limited to, tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ∎ | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ∎ | rates of inflation; |
| ∎ | cultural and language differences; |
| ∎ | employment regulations; |
| ∎ | changes in industry, regulatory or environmental standards within the jurisdictions where we operate; |
| ∎ | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| ∎ | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| ∎ | government appropriations of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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 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.
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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.
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.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in this offering may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we are issuing in this offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary shares and the one-half of a warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or courts. In addition, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in the units we are issuing in this offering is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our ordinary shares suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s (as defined in section titled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Consideration—U.S. Holders”) holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A ordinary shares is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section titled “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations” for a summary of the U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our securities. Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when acquiring, owning or disposing of our securities.
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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 by special resolution 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 to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder 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 to pay such taxes. Shareholders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this prospectus may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:
| ∎ | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ∎ | our ability to complete our initial business combination, including due to the uncertainty resulting from the recent COVID-19 pandemic; |
| ∎ | our expectations around the performance of the prospective target business or businesses; |
| ∎ | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ∎ | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| ∎ | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ∎ | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ∎ | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential acquisition opportunities; |
| ∎ | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ∎ | the lack of a market for our securities; |
| ∎ | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| ∎ | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| ∎ | our financial performance following this offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Risk Factors” beginning on page 38. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
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We are offering 20,000,000 units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit. We estimate that the net proceeds of this offering together with the funds we will receive from the sale of the private placement warrants will be used as set forth in the following table.
| WITHOUT OVER-ALLOTMENT OPTION |
OVER-ALLOTMENT OPTION FULLY EXERCISED |
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| Gross proceeds |
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| Gross proceeds from units offered to public (1) |
$ | 200,000,000 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||
| Gross proceeds from private placement warrants offered in the private placement |
6,000,000 | 6,600,000 | ||||||
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|
|
|
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| Total gross proceeds |
$ | 206,000,000 | $ | 236,600,000 | ||||
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| Offering expenses (2) |
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| Underwriting commissions (2% of gross proceeds from units offered to public, excluding deferred portion) (3) |
$ | 4,000,000 | $ | 4,600,000 | ||||
| Legal fees and expenses |
360,000 | 360,000 | ||||||
| Accounting fees and expenses |
40,000 | 40,000 | ||||||
| SEC/FINRA Expenses |
65,000 | 65,000 | ||||||
| Travel and road show |
20,000 | 20,000 | ||||||
| NYSE listing and filing fees |
85,000 | 85,000 | ||||||
| Director and Officer liability insurance premiums |
170,000 | 170,000 | ||||||
| Printing and engraving expenses |
40,000 | 40,000 | ||||||
| Miscellaneous |
220,000 | 220,000 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| Total offering expenses (excluding underwriting commissions) |
$ | 1,000,000 | $ | 1,000,000 | ||||
| Proceeds after offering expenses |
$ | 201,000,000 | $ | 231,000,000 | ||||
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|
|
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| Held in trust account (3) |
$ | 200,000,000 | $ | 230,000,000 | ||||
| % of public offering size |
100 | % | 100 | % | ||||
| Not held in trust account |
$ | 1,000,000 | $ | 1,000,000 | ||||
The following table shows the estimated use of the approximately $1,000,000 of net proceeds not held in the trust account. (4)
| AMOUNT | % OF TOTAL | |||||||
| Legal, accounting, due diligence, travel, and other expenses in connection with any business combination (5) |
$ | 300,000 | 30.0 | % | ||||
| Legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations |
100,000 | 10.0 | % | |||||
| Administrative and support services |
360,000 | 36.0 | % | |||||
| NYSE continued listing fees |
55,000 | 5.5 | % | |||||
| Reserve for liquidation |
100,000 | 10.0 | % | |||||
| Working capital to cover miscellaneous expenses (including taxes) |
85,000 | 8.50 | % | |||||
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| Total |
$ | 1,000,000 | 100.0 | % | ||||
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| (1) | Includes amounts payable to public shareholders who properly redeem their shares in connection with our successful completion of our initial business combination. Includes gross proceeds from this offering of $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full). |
| (2) | A portion of the offering expenses will be paid from the proceeds of loans from our sponsor of up to an aggregate of $300,000 as described in this prospectus. As of July 30, 2020, we had not borrowed any amounts (of up to $300,000 available to us) under the promissory notes with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These amounts will be repaid upon |
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| completion of this offering out of the offering proceeds that has been allocated for the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions). In the event that offering expenses are more than as set forth in this table, they will be repaid using a portion of the $1,000,000 of offering proceeds not held in the trust account and set aside for post-closing working capital expenses. In the event that offering expenses are less than set forth in this table, any such amounts will be used for post-closing working capital expenses. |
| (3) | The underwriters have agreed to defer underwriting commissions equal to 3.5% of the gross proceeds of this offering. Upon completion of our initial business combination, $7,000,000, which constitutes the underwriter’s deferred commissions (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be paid to the underwriters from the funds held in the trust account, and the remaining funds, less amounts released to the trustee to pay redeeming shareholders, will be released to us and can be used to pay all or a portion of the purchase price of the business or businesses with which our initial business combination occurs or for general corporate purposes, including payment of principal or interest on indebtedness incurred in connection with our initial business combination, to fund the purchases of other companies or for working capital. The underwriters will not be entitled to any interest accrued on the deferred underwriting discounts and commissions. |
| (4) | These expenses are estimates only and do not include interest which may be available to us from the trust account. Our actual expenditures for some or all of these items may differ from the estimates set forth herein. For example, we may incur greater legal and accounting expenses than our current estimates in connection with negotiating and structuring our initial business combination based upon the level of complexity of such business combination. In the event we identify an initial business combination target in a specific industry subject to specific regulations, we may incur additional expenses associated with legal due diligence and the engagement of special legal counsel. In addition, our staffing needs may vary and as a result, we may engage a number of consultants to assist with legal and financial due diligence. We do not anticipate any change in our intended use of proceeds, other than fluctuations among the current categories of allocated expenses, which fluctuations, to the extent they exceed current estimates for any specific category of expenses, would not be available for our expenses. |
| (5) | Includes estimated amounts that may also be used in connection with our initial business combination to fund a “no shop” provision and commitment fees for financing. |
We may increase or decrease the total number of units sold to the public in this offering. If we decide to proceed with an offering that results in an increase in the total number of units sold to the public, we would have additional proceeds from the offering available to pursue an acquisition. If we proceed with an offering that results in a decrease in the total number of shares sold to the public, we would have reduced proceeds from the offering available to pursue an acquisition. Such an increase or decrease may impact the size of the initial business combination we may pursue. In addition, the proceeds held in trust would correspondingly increase or decrease such that 100% of the gross proceeds from this offering will be held in trust. The underwriter’s option to purchase additional units to cover over-allotments and the amount of private placement warrants that our sponsor and the underwriters will purchase will correspondingly increase or decrease. We would issue additional founder shares in the event we increase the total number of units sold in this offering and our sponsor would surrender founder shares it holds in the event we decrease the total number of units sold in this offering so that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all Class B ordinary shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon completion of this offering, plus the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans.
Of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), including $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) of deferred underwriting commissions, will be placed in a trust account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. We estimate that the interest earned on the trust account will be approximately $1,000,000 per year, assuming an interest rate of 0.5% per year; however, we can provide no assurance regarding this amount. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of
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association to (i) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law.
The net proceeds released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop arrangements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
We believe that amounts not held in trust will be sufficient to pay the costs and expenses to which such proceeds are allocated. This belief is based on the fact that while we may begin preliminary due diligence of a target business in connection with an indication of interest, we intend to undertake in-depth due diligence, depending on the circumstances of the relevant prospective business combination, only after we have negotiated and signed a letter of intent or other preliminary agreement that addresses the terms of an initial business combination. However, if our estimate of the costs of undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may be required to raise additional capital, the amount, availability and cost of which is currently unascertainable. If we are required to seek additional capital, we could seek such additional capital through loans or additional investments from our sponsor, members of our management team or their affiliates, but such persons are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or invest in, us.
We will reimburse our sponsor for office space, secretarial and administrative services provided to members of our management team, in the amount of $15,000 per month. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of July 30, 2020, we had not borrowed any amounts under the promissory notes with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of offering proceeds not held in the trust account.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. Otherwise, such loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the trust account. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used to repay such loaned amounts. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into
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warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) and the agreement for our initial business combination may require as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights so that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement or any net worth or cash requirements, we would not proceed with the redemption of our public shares or the initial business combination, and instead may search for an alternate business combination.
A public shareholder 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, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months following the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law and as further described herein and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. However, if our sponsor or any of our officers, directors or affiliates acquires public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
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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, and we will only pay such dividend out of our profits or share premium (subject to solvency requirements) as permitted under Cayman Islands law. If we increase the size of this offering, we will effect a share capitalization or other appropriate mechanism immediately prior to the consummation of this offering in such amount as to maintain the number of founder shares, on an as-converted basis, at 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with a business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
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The difference between the public offering price per Class A ordinary share, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units we are offering pursuant to this prospectus or the private placement warrants, and the pro forma net tangible book value per Class A ordinary share after this offering constitutes the dilution to investors in this offering. Such calculation does not reflect any dilution associated with the sale and exercise of warrants, including the private placement warrants, which would cause the actual dilution to the public shareholders to be higher, particularly where a cashless exercise is utilized. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our net tangible book value, which is our total tangible assets less total liabilities (including the value of Class A ordinary shares which may be redeemed for cash), by the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
At July 30, 2020, our net tangible book value was $(80,111), or approximately $(0.01) per ordinary share. After giving effect to the sale of 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares included in the units we are offering by this prospectus (or 23,000,000 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), the sale of the private placement warrants and the deduction of underwriting commissions and estimated expenses of this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value at July 30, 2020 would have been $5,000,009 or approximately $0.82 per share (or $0.72 per share if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), representing an immediate increase in net tangible book value (as decreased by the value of the approximately 18,901,988 Class A ordinary shares that may be redeemed for cash, or 21,796,988 Class A ordinary shares if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) of $0.83 per share (or $0.73 per share if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) to our initial shareholders as of the date of this prospectus and immediate dilution to public shareholders from this offering will be $9.18 per share (or $9.28 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full).
The following table illustrates the dilution to the public shareholders on a per-share basis, assuming no value is attributed to the warrants included in the units or the private placement warrants:
| NO EXERCISE OF OVER-ALLOTMENT OPTION |
EXERCISE OF OVER-ALLOTMENT OPTION IN FULL |
|||||||
| Public offering price |
$ | 10.00 | $ | 10.00 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Net tangible book value before this offering |
$ | (0.01 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) | ||
| Increase attributable to public shareholders and sale of the private placement warrants |
$ | 0.83 | $ | 0.73 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| Pro forma net tangible book value after this offering |
$ | 0.82 | $ | 0.72 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| Dilution to public shareholders |
$ | 9.18 | $ | 9.28 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| Percentage of dilution to public shareholders |
91.80 | % | 92.80 | % | ||||
For purposes of presentation, we have reduced our pro forma net tangible book value after this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) by $189,019,880 because holders of up to approximately 94.5% of our public shares may redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account at a per share redemption price equal to the amount in the trust account as set forth in our tender offer or proxy materials (initially anticipated to be the aggregate amount held in trust two days prior to the commencement of our tender offer or shareholders’ meeting, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes), divided by the number of Class A ordinary shares sold in this offering.
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The following table sets forth information with respect to our initial shareholders and the public shareholders:
| SHARES PURCHASED | TOTAL CONSIDERATION | AVERAGE PRICE PER SHARE |
||||||||||||||||||
| NUMBER | PERCENTAGE | AMOUNT | PERCENTAGE | |||||||||||||||||
| Initial Shareholders (1) |
5,000,000 | 20.000 | % | $ | 25,000 | 0.012 | % | $ | 0.005 | |||||||||||
| Public Shareholders |
20,000,000 | 80.000 | % | 200,000,000 | 99.988 | % | $ | 10.000 | ||||||||||||
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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| 25,000,000 | 100.000 | % | $ | 200,025,000 | 100.00 | % | ||||||||||||||
| (1) | Assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding surrender for no consideration of an aggregate of 750,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our sponsor and conversion of Class B ordinary shares into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis. The dilution to public shareholders would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares result in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon such conversion. |
The pro forma net tangible book value per share after this offering is calculated as follows:
| WITHOUT OVER-ALLOTMENT |
WITH OVER-ALLOTMENT |
|||||||
| Numerator: |
||||||||
| Net tangible book value before this offering |
$ | (80,111 | ) | $ | (80,111 | ) | ||
| Plus: Offering costs paid in advance, excluded from tangible book value before this offering |
100,000 | 100,000 | ||||||
| Net proceeds from this offering and sale of the private placement warrants, net of expenses (1) |
201,000,000 | 231,000,000 | ||||||
| Less: Deferred underwriting commissions |
(7,000,000 | ) | (8,050,000 | ) | ||||
| Less: Proceeds held in trust subject to redemption to maintain net tangible assets of $5,000,001 (2) |
(189,019,880 | ) | (217,969,880 | ) | ||||
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|
|
|
|
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| $ | 5,000,009 | $ | 5,000,009 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| WITHOUT OVER-ALLOTMENT |
WITH OVER-ALLOTMENT |
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| Denominator: |
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| Class B ordinary shares outstanding prior to this offering |
5,750,000 | 5,750,000 | ||||||
| Class B ordinary shares surrendered if over-allotment is not exercised |
(750,000 | ) | — | |||||
| Class A ordinary shares included in the units offered |
20,000,000 | 23,000,000 | ||||||
| Less: Shares subject to redemption |
(18,901,988 | ) | (21,796,988 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| 6,098,012 | 6,953,012 | |||||||
| (1) | Expenses applied against gross proceeds include offering expenses of $1,000,000 and underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 (or $4,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) (excluding deferred underwriting fees). See “Use of Proceeds.” |
| (2) | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants’ in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market, either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. In the event of any such purchases of our shares prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption will be reduced by the amount of any such purchases, increasing the pro forma net tangible book value per share. See “Proposed Business — Effecting Our Initial Business Combination” and “Proposed Business — Permitted Purchases of Our Securities.” |
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The following table sets forth our capitalization at July 30, 2020, and as adjusted to give effect to the sale of our units in this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and the application of the estimated net proceeds derived from the sale of such securities, assuming no exercise by the underwriters of its over-allotment option:
| JULY 30, 2020 | ||||||||
| ACTUAL | AS ADJUSTED | |||||||
| Promissory note—related party |
$ | — | $ | — | ||||
| Deferred underwriting commissions |
— | 7,000,000 | ||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 230,000,000 shares authorized; -0- and 18,901,988 shares are subject to possible redemption, actual and as adjusted, respectively (2)(3) |
— | 189,019,880 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value, 2,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted |
— | — | ||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 230,000,000 shares authorized, -0- and 1,098,012 shares issued and outstanding (excluding -0- and 18,901,988 shares subject to redemption), actual and adjusted, respectively |
— | 110 | ||||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized, 5,750,000 and 5,000,000 shares issued and outstanding, actual and as adjusted, respectively (3) |
575 | 500 | ||||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
24,425 | 5,004,510 | ||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
(5,111 | ) | (5,111 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total shareholders’ equity |
19,889 | 5,000,009 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
| Total capitalization |
$ | 19,889 | $ | 201,019,889 | ||||
|
|
|
|
|
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| (1) | Our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. The “as adjusted” information gives effect to the repayment of any loans made under this note out of the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants. As of July 30, 2020, we had not borrowed any amounts under the promissory notes with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. |
| (2) | Upon the completion of our initial business combination, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, subject to the limitations described herein whereby our net tangible assets will be maintained at a minimum of $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) created by the terms of the proposed initial business combination. |
| (3) | Actual share amount is prior to any surrender of founder shares by our sponsor and as adjusted amount assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option. |
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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL
CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Overview
We are a blank check company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing.
The issuance of additional shares in connection with an initial business combination to the owners of the target or other investors:
| ∎ | may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors in this offering, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
| ∎ | may subordinate the rights of holders of our 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 our 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 Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
| ∎ | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:
| ∎ | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ∎ | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ∎ | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ∎ | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ∎ | our inability to pay dividends on our 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, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| ∎ | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ∎ | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| ∎ | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| ∎ | other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, at July 30, 2020, we had no cash, and will rely on loans from our sponsor for operating costs until the close of this offering. Further, we had deferred offering costs of $100,000 and expect to incur additional significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete our initial business combination will be successful.
Results of Operations and Known Trends or Future Events
We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities since inception have been organizational activities and those necessary to prepare for this offering. Following this offering, we will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents after this offering. There has been no significant change in our financial or trading position and no material adverse change has occurred since the date of our audited financial statements. After this offering, we expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as expenses as we conduct due diligence on prospective business combination candidates. We expect our expenses to increase substantially after the closing of this offering.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Our liquidity needs will be satisfied prior to the completion of this offering through up to an aggregate of $300,000 in loans available from our sponsor under unsecured promissory notes. As of July 30, 2020, we had not borrowed any amounts under such promissory notes. We estimate that the net proceeds from (i) the sale of the units in this offering, after deducting offering expenses of approximately $1,000,000, underwriting commissions of $4,000,000 ($4,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) (excluding deferred underwriting commissions of $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full)), and (ii) the sale of the private placement warrants for an aggregate purchase price of $6,000,000 (or $6,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), will be $201,000,000 (or $231,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full). Of this amount, $200,000,000 (or $230,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account, which includes $7,000,000 (or $8,050,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) of deferred underwriting commissions. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. The remaining approximately $1,000,000 will not be held in the trust account. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the trust account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the trust account (less taxes paid and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our initial business combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes. Our annual income tax obligations will depend on the amount of interest and other income earned on the amounts held in the trust account. We expect the interest earned on the amount in the trust account will be sufficient to pay our income taxes. To the extent that our shares or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our initial business combination, the remaining proceeds held in the trust account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.
Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we will have available to us the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account. We will use these funds to, among other expenditures described herein, identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, and structure, negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
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In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts, but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our sponsor, officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our primary liquidity requirements during that period to include approximately $300,000 for legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; $100,000 for legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting requirements; $360,000 for administrative and support services; $55,000 for NYSE fees; and approximately $85,000 for working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.
These amounts are estimates and may differ materially from our actual expenses. In addition, we could use a portion of the funds not being placed in trust to pay commitment fees for financing, fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business or as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision 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 initial business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so.
If we entered into an agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business, the amount that would be used as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision would be determined based on the terms of the specific business combination and the amount of our available funds at the time. Our forfeiture of such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise) could result in our not having sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conducting due diligence with respect to, prospective target businesses.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds following this offering in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business. However, if our estimates of the costs of identifying a target business, undertaking in-depth due diligence and negotiating an initial business combination are less than the actual amount necessary to do so, we may have insufficient funds available to operate our business prior to our 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 business combination. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. In addition, following our initial business combination, if cash on hand is insufficient, we may need to obtain additional financing in order to meet our
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obligations. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Controls and Procedures
We are not currently required to maintain an effective system of internal controls as defined by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We will be required to comply with the internal control requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event that we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer an emerging growth company would we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement.
Prior to the closing of this offering, we have not completed an assessment, nor has our independent registered public accounting firm tested our systems, of internal controls. We expect to assess the internal controls of our target business or businesses prior to the completion of our initial business combination and, if necessary, to implement and test additional controls as we may determine are necessary in order to state that we maintain an effective system of internal controls. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the adequacy of internal controls. Many small and mid-sized target businesses we may consider for our initial business combination may have internal controls that need improvement in areas such as:
| ∎ | staffing for financial, accounting and external reporting areas, including segregation of duties; |
| ∎ | reconciliation of accounts; |
| ∎ | proper recording of expenses and liabilities in the period to which they relate; |
| ∎ | evidence of internal review and approval of accounting transactions; |
| ∎ | documentation of processes, assumptions and conclusions underlying significant estimates; and |
| ∎ | documentation of accounting policies and procedures. |
Because it will take time, management involvement and perhaps outside resources to determine what internal control improvements are necessary for us to meet regulatory requirements and market expectations for our operation of a target business, we may incur significant expense in meeting our public reporting responsibilities, particularly in the areas of designing, enhancing, or remediating internal and disclosure controls. Doing so effectively may also take longer than we expect, thus increasing our exposure to financial fraud or erroneous financing reporting.
Once our management’s report on internal controls is complete, we will retain our independent registered public accounting firm to audit and render an opinion on such report when required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The independent registered public accounting firm may identify additional issues concerning a target business’s internal controls while performing their audit of internal control over financial reporting.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.
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Related Party Transactions
In July 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (up to an aggregate of 750,000 shares of which are subject to surrender for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the Company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders (and their permitted transferees, if any) at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon the consummation of this offering.
Our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers, directors or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the consummation of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of July 30, 2020, we had not borrowed any amounts under the promissory notes with our sponsor to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. The loans will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the $1,000,000 offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in trust.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
Our sponsor has committed to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 private placement warrants (or 6,025,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($5,500,000 in the aggregate or $6,025,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. Our sponsor will be permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by it to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to them, but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as our sponsor. Otherwise, these warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) will not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The private placement warrants purchased by our sponsor will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by our sponsor or such permitted transferees. The private placement warrants held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees may also be exercised by our sponsor and its permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis. Otherwise, such private placement warrants will have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
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In addition, Jefferies, an underwriter for this offering, has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase 500,000 private placement warrants (or 575,000 private placement warrants in the event the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $500,000 (or $575,000 in the event the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full) or $1.00 per warrant, in the private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. The private placement warrants purchased by Jefferies will be identical to the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering except that they will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis for as long as such private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its permitted transferees. Additionally, for so long as such private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Additionally, the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by Jefferies may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of this prospectus except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriters and any such participating selected dealer. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by Jefferies will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
Genesis Park has expressed to us an intent to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 units in this offering at the public offering price (or 1,150,000 units in the event the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which amounts may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if fewer than 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are sold in this offering. We have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell to Genesis Park such number of units at the public offering price. In the event that Genesis Park purchases such units (either in this offering or after) and votes them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that other public shareholders holding only 6,500,001 of the other public shares would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction, of which an aggregate of 135,000 shares may be held by certain of our directors who have indicated an interest in purchasing such number of units in this offering, although they are not obligated to do so. Any units purchased by Genesis Park (and their constituent Class A ordinary shares and warrants) will not be subject to the restrictions on transfer applicable to the founder shares and private placement warrants. As a result of the founder shares, private placement warrants and units that Genesis Park may hold (directly or indirectly), it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public shareholders.
Genesis Park will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units it purchases in this offering as the rights afforded to our public shareholders.
Pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement we will enter into with our initial shareholders Jefferies and Genesis Park on or prior to the closing of this offering, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration and shareholder rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
As of July 30, 2020, we did not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of Regulation S-K and did not have any commitments or contractual obligations. No unaudited quarterly operating data is included in this prospectus, as we have conducted no operations to date.
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JOBS Act
On April 5, 2012, the JOBS Act was signed into law. The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly-traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an independent registered public accounting firm’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the report of independent registered public accounting firm providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the CEO’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of this offering or until we are no longer an emerging growth company, whichever is earlier.
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Overview
We are a newly incorporated blank check company incorporated on July 29, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company whose business purpose is to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to herein as our initial business combination. We have not selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
We believe that there are many target companies that could become attractive public companies, which is why we will seek a target in any industry or geographic region. While we may pursue an initial business combination target in any industry or geographic region, we will seek to capitalize on the operational and investment experience of our management team and focus on companies that we believe have significant growth prospects with the potential to generate attractive returns for our shareholders. We expect to focus on identifying potential target companies in the aerospace and aviation services sectors with above-industry-average growth, substantial free cash flow generation, and a defensible market position with an enterprise value of $500 million to $1 billion where our management team’s operational, strategic or managerial expertise can assist in maximizing value.
We are led by a preeminent purpose-built team of experienced managers, operators and investors who have played important roles in helping build and grow profitable public and private businesses, both organically and through acquisitions, to create value for shareholders. Our management team, board of directors and advisory committee have extensive experience identifying, evaluating and executing acquisitions, having collectively completed over $70 billion in value-added acquisitions and dispositions. Our team’s expertise spans a wide range of industries, bringing us a diversity of experiences and perspectives.
Management Team and Board of Directors
David N. Siegel will serve as Chairman of our board of directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Siegel has 30 years of experience in the aerospace and aviation industries and possesses deep relationships across the entire aerospace supply chain. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Sun Country Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier (“ULCC”), which he joined in April 2018, and as Chairman of Volotea, a Spanish low-cost airline, which he joined in April 2018. Since October 2017, Mr. Siegel has acted as a Senior Advisor for Apollo Global Management Inc. (“Apollo”) and in that capacity assisted Apollo in the acquisition of portfolio companies Sun Country Airlines and Volotea. From April 2016 to September 2017, Mr. Siegel served as Chief Executive Officer of aircraft leasing company AWAS. During his time as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Siegel demonstrated his ability to effectively run global operations by managing $8.4 billion in total assets through AWAS’s committed fleet of 261 aircraft across 45 countries. Prior to joining AWAS, Mr. Siegel served as Chief Executive Officer for a number of operators, including Frontier Airlines from 2012 to 2015, XOJET from 2008 to 2010 and US Airways Group, Inc. (formerly NYSE:LCC) (“United”) from 2002 to 2004. At the helm of Frontier Airlines, Mr. Siegel successfully transitioned the airline to become a profitable ULCC in 2014. Prior to running Frontier Airlines, Mr. Siegel was Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of XOJET, where he launched fixed coast-to-coast pricing options that solidified the company’s position as a key player in the transcontinental charter market. In June 2004, Mr. Siegel became the Chairman and CEO of Gate Gourmet Group Inc., the world’s largest independent airline catering and logistics provider. Prior to his departure in December 2008, Mr. Siegel guided the company through an operational and financial restructuring that tripled the enterprise value. Additionally, Mr. Siegel implemented a strategic mergers and acquisitions growth strategy that created a portfolio of eleven companies, operating under the umbrella brand Gategroup, which specialized in in-flight products and services. After being asked to join US Airways Group as Chief Executive Officer in March 2002, Mr. Siegel successfully guided the company through bankruptcy and returned it to profitability in 2003. Prior to US Airways, Mr. Siegel was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Rent A Car System, Inc., joining six weeks before the September 11th terrorist attacks. While at Avis, Mr. Siegel helped navigate the company through challenging times, including a steep drop in travel demand. He also led Avis’s acquisition of Budget Group for $107.5 million to further grow the leisure segment of the business and create the second largest car rental company in the world, Avis Budget Group. After beginning his career as a consultant at
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Bain & Company, where he worked from 1983 to 1990, Mr. Siegel served in various senior management roles at Continental Airlines Holdings (formerly NYSE:CAL) (“Continental”) and Northwest Airlines Corp. (formerly NYSE:NWA) (Northwest”). Mr. Siegel holds a B.S. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Paul W. Hobby will serve as Chief Executive Officer and Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He is a Founding Partner at Genesis Park LP, a Houston-based private equity firm specializing in growth businesses, distressed situations and public company carveouts. Mr. Hobby maintains extensive relationships with industry-leading aviation executives, private equity firms, family offices and privately owned businesses across aerospace and aviation sectors. Additionally, he has over 20 years of sourcing experience focused on alignment and partnership with management teams and shareholders. At Genesis Park, directly and through its portfolio companies, Mr. Hobby has recapitalized and redirected ten public company divisions in multiple industries. For two of those transactions, Mr. Hobby served as Chief Executive Officer post-acquisition: (i) at Texas Monthly, LLC from 2016 to 2019 and (ii) at Alpheus Communications, LLC, a fiber optic network and data center provider, from 2004 to 2011. In another carveout from a bankrupt parent, he served as Chairman of CapRock Services, Inc. from 2002 to 2007 and as a director of CapRock from 2007 to 2011. Under his firm’s leadership, the CapRock business grew from $24 million in revenue to over $600 million to become one of the largest providers of satellite services globally. Furthermore, Mr. Hobby has served on the board of directors of NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NRG) (“NRG”), a leading integrated power company, since March 2006. In an activist posture, he became a member of the board of directors of Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE:FTK) in March of 2019, where he facilitated the retirement of the incumbent CEO and recruited a new management team to redirect the company. Mr. Hobby is former Chairman of the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Business Hall of Fame, the Texas General Services Commission and the Texas Ethics Commission, and today serves on the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees. He also served on the board of directors of Eagle Global Logistics, Stewart Title, Coastal Banc., Amegy Bank and Aronex Pharmaceuticals. Early in his career, Mr. Hobby served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and as an Associate at Fulbright & Jaworski. Mr. Hobby holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School.
Jonathan E. Baliff will serve as our President, Chief Financial Officer and Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He has been a leader in the aviation and infrastructure sector for over 25 years, acting as a public company senior executive in addition to investment and commercial banker. Most recently, Mr. Baliff was at Bristow Group (formerly NYSE:BRS) (“Bristow”), the world’s largest commercial helicopter and industrial aviation company serving the energy and government sectors, where he served first as Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2014 and President and Chief Executive Officer from 2014 to 2018. During his time at Bristow, the company consistently led its peers in safety, operational and financial performance with over $1.5 billion in business and long-term contract acquisitions. Despite significant turmoil in the offshore transportation services market following the 2014 global oil price collapse, Bristow continued to recognize revenue growth while Bristow’s peer group’s5 revenues fell by an average of ~10% annually with most competitors filing for bankruptcy over the same period. Prior to joining Bristow, Mr. Baliff acted as Executive Vice President for Strategy at NRG (NYSE:NRG), the largest independent electric power generator in the United States, from 2007 to 2010. As both a banker to and an employee of NRG, Mr. Baliff was part of the team that led the company out of bankruptcy in 2004 to become a member of the Fortune 500 and systematically changed the company’s business by pursuing a retail customer and low-carbon energy strategy. This strategy included completing over $5 billion in acquisitions including the purchase of Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy, growing the retail footprint of NRG to over three million customers. Prior to NRG, Mr. Baliff acted as a Managing Director in Credit Suisse’s Global Energy Group from 1996 to 2007 and an associate in J.P. Morgan’s Natural Resources Group from 1995 to 1996, where he was responsible for corporate finance and M&A executions during the era of natural gas and electric utility deregulation, with over $50 billion in M&A transactions and financings completed. Additionally, Mr. Baliff served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1985 to 1993 as an aviator flying the F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft. Currently, Mr. Baliff serves on the board of directors and Risk Committee of Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:TCBI) (“TCBI”), the parent company of Texas Capital Bank. Mr. Baliff has served on the Board of TCBI since 2017, during which period the company generated an average annual increase in net income available to common shareholders of 29.1%.
| 5 | Peer group includes Era Group, Inc., Kirby Corporation, Bourbon SA, SEACOR Holdings Inc., DOF ASA, Solstad Offshore ASA, Tidewater Inc. and Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. |
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Mr. Baliff holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
David Bilger will serve as our Executive Vice President as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Bilger has served as Principal at Genesis Park LP since 2019, where he focuses on sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities in addition to monitoring and developing active portfolio companies. Mr. Bilger previously served as Managing Director at Kuleana Capital, a long / short public equity manager, from 2016 to 2019, and as a private equity investment professional at NGP Energy Capital Management, a private equity firm with $20 billion of cumulative equity commitments, from 2012 to 2014. He began his career in the investment banking division of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Mr. Bilger holds a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Wayne Gilbert West will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, unless the effective date of the registration is prior to October 5, 2020, in which case, Mr. West will serve as a Director as of October 5, 2020. Throughout his over 30 years of experience, Mr. West has held a multitude of leadership roles across the aerospace and aviation industries, including positions at The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) (“Boeing”), Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) (“Delta”), Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) and United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:UAL) (“United”). While at Delta, from 2008 to 2020, Mr. West held a variety of roles, including Senior Vice President of Airport Customer Service and Technical Operations, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. While Chief Operating Officer from 2014 to 2020, Mr. West managed a team of over 70,000 employees and was responsible for managing safe, reliable operations globally by overseeing the fleet, technical operations and asset procurement and performance. Prior to joining Delta, Mr. West served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Laidlaw Transit Services Inc., which provided bus transportation through intercity, interstate and interurban bus lines, from 2006 to 2007. After joining TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc. in 2001 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. West served as President from 2002 to 2005 and was instrumental in achieving the company’s 4-year 5.7% compounded annual growth rate. He also served as an executive at Northwest from 1996 to 2001 and held various managerial positions with United, Rohr Industries, Sundstrand Corporation and Boeing Commercial Aircraft. Mr. West currently serves on the board of directors of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), which he joined in October 2018, and Wheels Up, which he joined in February 2019. Mr. West holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A. from National University in San Diego.
Richard H. Anderson will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Anderson served as Chief Executive Officer of Delta (NYSE:DAL) from September 2007 to May 2016 and was Executive Chairman from May 2016 until his retirement in October 2016. He joined Delta as the company was emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection and played the main leadership role in leading Delta to achieve an average annual revenue growth rate of 8.4% and taking the company from a $4.5 billion market capitalization in 2007 to a $29.1 billion market capitalization in 2016. Mr. Anderson led Delta to record profitability – from bankruptcy to GAAP pre-tax income of $7.1 billion and return on invested capital of 28% in 2015, his final year running Delta. Furthermore, in October 2008, Mr. Anderson led Delta to complete the acquisition of Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) for an aggregate value of $2.7 billion. Prior to his time at Delta, Mr. Anderson served as Executive Vice President and President of Commercial Services at UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) (“UnitedHealth”) from 2004 to 2007 and led the formation of Optum. Prior to UnitedHealth, Mr. Anderson was at Northwest, which he joined in 1990 and served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Operating Officer prior to his role as Chief Executive Officer from 2001 to 2004. During his time at Northwest, Mr. Anderson led the company to experience a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 4.4% from 2001 to 2004. Most recently, Mr. Anderson served as the volunteer President and Chief Executive Officer of National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) from June 2017 to April 2020. During his time at Amtrak, the company reported record ridership and revenues and cut operating losses to near breakeven. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the board of directors of Medtronic plc, which he joined in 2004, and the board of directors of Cargill Inc., which he joined in 2006. Mr. Anderson served on the board of directors of Northwest, Delta, Mesaba Aviation, Inc., Xcel Energy Inc. and Securian Financial Group, Inc., and he was elected Chairman of Airlines for America and Chairman of the International Air Transportation Association while CEO at Delta. He also was selected by the FAA as the Chairman of the Next Gen Advisory Committee. Mr. Anderson holds a B.S. from the University of Houston, Clear Lake City, and a J.D. from the South Texas College of Law, Houston.
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Andrea Fischer Newman will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. For over 25 years, Ms. Newman has worked at the intersection of business, law, policy and politics. From 2008 to 2017, Ms. Newman served as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) (“Delta”), where she led Delta’s efforts to reform the Export-Import Bank, as well as its work to secure bilateral aviation agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries. While managing government affairs throughout global fuel price increases and the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, Ms. Newman was vital in maintaining and developing strategies to further Delta’s interests domestically and internationally. Prior to Delta, Ms. Newman was at Northwest Airlines Corp (formerly NYSE:NWA) (“Northwest”) for thirteen years, where she served as Vice President from 1995 to 2001 and Senior Vice President from 2001 to 2008. While at Northwest, Ms. Newman helped lead the airline industry in significant initiatives, including legislation impacting airline pensions, global competitiveness and the industry’s response to the September 11th attacks. Ms. Newman also played an active role in the merger and integration of Northwest and Delta and managed government relations through Northwest’s bankruptcy. Earlier on in her career, Ms. Newman was at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone (“Miller, Canfield”) for almost seven years, where she served as Senior Legal Counsel from 1988 to 1992 and Senior Partner from 1992 to 1994. Prior to her time at Miller, Canfield, Ms. Newman served as Deputy Assistant to the Vice President of the United States from 1985 to 1986 and as Special Counsel to the Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1986 to 1987. Ms. Newman currently serves on the board of directors for PrimeFlight Aviation Services, Sun Country Airlines and Sequitur Energy Resources. She holds a B.A. with Honors in History from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Thomas Dan Friedkin will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Friedkin is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Friedkin Group, a privately held consortium of businesses and investments in the automotive, entertainment and hospitality industries. Mr. Friedkin is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf States Toyota, a subsidiary of The Friedkin Group and one of the world’s largest independent distributors of Toyota vehicles and parts, serving more than 150 dealers. Under Mr. Friedkin’s leadership, Gulf States Toyota sold $9 billion of vehicles in 2018. Gulf States Toyota has consistently been recognized by the Houston Chronicle as one of the “Top Private Companies” in Houston and was recognized by Forbes as one of America’s “Best Midsize Employers.” Furthermore, Mr. Friedkin founded media investment company 30West, which controls Neon Group, the company responsible for funding the release and distribution of Oscar best picture, Parasite. Mr. Friedkin also founded Imperative Entertainment, which has financially backed major motion films including The Mule, The Square and I, Tonya. In addition to his experience in the media space, Mr. Friedkin also serves as Chairman of Auberge Resorts Collection, a portfolio of luxury hotels, resorts and residences, spanning across eight time zones and three continents. Mr. Friedkin also founded Pursuit Aviation, an aerial photography company that has used their breakthrough platform, known as JETCAM, to pair shot-over camera systems with aerobatic jet aircraft to perform work for acclaimed movies and television, including Dunkirk, Thor and Ray Donovan. Mr. Friedkin has a long history tied to aviation, stemming from his father, a famed aviator and owner of Carlsbad Jet Center, and grandfather, the founder of the discount airline Pacific Southwest Air. Mr. Friedkin holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Rice University.
The past performance of our management team, or their respective affiliates, is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to identify a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. No member of our management team has been an officer or director of a SPAC in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team’s or their respective affiliates’ performance as indicative of our future performance.
Each of our officers has agreed not to become a director or officer of any other SPAC with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
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Advisory Committee
Nina Jonsson will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Jonsson is a senior international aviation executive with over 30 years of industry experience, including over 20 years at four major airlines: Air France-KLM SA (ENXTPA:AF), United (NASDAQ:UAL), US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC) and Delta (NYSE:DAL). While serving as Director of Fleet Planning for United, Ms. Jonsson grew the company’s owned mainline fleet by 46.7%, or 115 aircraft, from 2006 to 2011. Currently, Ms. Jonsson serves as Senior Advisor for Plane View Partners, LLC and is on the board of directors of Icelandair Group hf. (ICSE:ICEAIR) and FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSXV:FLY). She also has extensive M&A and reorganization experience having worked on major mergers within the aviation space, including United and Continental’s $3.2 billion merger announced in 2010, and has led businesses through various industry cycles. Ms. Jonsson has an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. from University of New Haven.
John S. Bolton will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Bolton has over 30 years of industry executive experience, including seven years as President of Honeywell’s (NYSE:HON) Aerospace Air Transport & Regional business, a $4.7 billion revenue per year global business enterprise that provides original equipment and aftermarket products and services to the aviation segments. He also spent three years as Vice President leading Honeywell’s Aftermarket for the Business & General Aviation Strategic Business Unit, where he leveraged extensive cross-functional, product and customer experience to provide strategic and tactical leadership to this $1.2 billion business. Mr. Bolton is currently the Owner and President of Blu Sky Edge Corp, an aviation commercial propulsion engine leasing and product sales company. Mr. Bolton holds a B.S. from Clarkson University in New York and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
Dave Davis will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Davis currently serves as President, Chief Financial Officer and member of the board of directors of Sun Country Airlines, a private equity-backed low-cost airline providing scheduled passenger, charter and cargo services. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) and US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC), as well as a member of the board of directors of Globecomm Systems Inc., ARINC Corp. and Lumexis Corp. During his eight-year tenure at Northwest, Mr. Davis served in multiple roles, including as Chief Financial Officer, where he played a key role in the 2008 merger of Northwest and Delta. Mr. Davis has also served in other senior executive positions, including as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Global Eagle Entertainment Inc. (NASDAQ:ENT) (“Global Eagle”), a major provider of inflight connectivity systems, until 2017. While at Global Eagle, he was a key leader in the company’s IPO through a successful SPAC merger in 2013. Mr. Davis holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics degree and an M.B.A., both from the University of Minnesota.
Our Business Strategy and Targeted Industries
We believe that we are well-positioned to identify attractive initial business combination opportunities in the global aerospace and aviation industries.
| ∎ | The aerospace and aviation services industries have demonstrated a long track record of consistent growth |
| ∎ | Although the COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected the aerospace and aviation services industries, strong underlying fundamentals and expected recovery create a unique opportunity to invest in the industry |
| ∎ | Our strategy is to acquire a leading market participant that has room to grow through commercial and operational improvements and further acquisitions as the overall aerospace and aviation services industries recover |
The global aerospace industry has demonstrated consistent growth over the last 20+ years, with positive trends impacting commercial passenger airlines, cargo airlines, business aviation and special mission operators. Industry-wide growth has been driven by global GDP growth, with Boeing estimating that global annual passenger traffic has risen at a multiple of 1.7x global GDP over the past 25 years on average. Global GDP growth is supported by emerging markets, with these regions accounting for 60% of the world’s economic growth between 2008 and 2018 and 40% of new passenger air traffic over the last 10 years. Air cargo operators have similarly benefitted from economic growth globally, further supported by the rise of e-commerce and growing consumer confidence.
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We believe these are secular trends that will continue to drive opportunities for aircraft operators as well as services providers that offer mission-critical products and services to these businesses. Our business strategy is to focus on all subsectors within aviation end markets, including aerospace and aviation services providers, whose customers are mainly aircraft operators in passenger, cargo, business aviation or other end markets. Our universe of target companies focuses on businesses that are directly or indirectly impacted by global air traffic trends for one or all of these end markets.
While we remain confident in the long-term growth prospects of the aerospace and aviation services industries, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges for the sector, resulting in many high-quality companies facing near-term liquidity challenges. We believe this market dynamic creates further opportunity for our team to consummate our initial business combination, as we expect a recovery will be accompanied by a number of restructurings and significant merger and acquisition activity to consolidate the market.
We have specifically formed a preeminent management team, board of directors and advisory committee with significant aerospace and aviation services experience in order to source, evaluate and execute a merger with a company that would benefit from access to the public markets and the skills of our management team. We believe there is a lack of quality public, mid-cap global aerospace and aviation services companies and believe we can address this void in the marketplace. Our team further intends to capitalize on the current and medium-term disruption in the market, and we expect to benefit from a significant recovery in the sector over the next three to five years, representing built-in growth. Our goal is to acquire a target that will be a platform for future add-on acquisitions, with the strategy of becoming a much-needed consolidator of the sector, offering integrated services across aviation end markets.
The Aerospace and Aviation Services Industries Have Demonstrated a Long Track Record of Consistent Growth
The global aerospace and aviation services industries have experienced multi-decade, secular growth as demonstrated by multiple positive industry dynamics. First, the global fleet count grew 17.8% from 2014, resulting in over 26,000 commercial aircraft in 2018. Global revenue passenger miles (“RPMs”) for commercial airlines have grown to 5.3 trillion in 2018, representing a 5.5% average annual growth over the previous 20 years.
In addition, global air cargo demand has also seen significant growth due to the recent advent of e-commerce. Freight tonne kilometers (“FTKs”), representing global cargo traffic, have grown at an average annual rate of 3.2% from 2008 to 2018, supported by global retail e-commerce sales, which were $2.3 trillion in 2017, more than double the $1.1 trillion spent in 2012.
The increase in demand for passenger air traffic has significantly outpaced supply, with available seat miles (“ASMs”) only growing 4.6% on average over the same 20-year period, from 1998 to 2018. This trend is reflected in
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commercial aircraft load factors, an indicator that measures the percentage of available seating capacity that is filled with passengers, which has increased by 12.6% from 1998 to 2018. This period of strong demand amidst growing capacity has resulted in consistent profits of over $25 billion annually for the global airline industry since 2015.
Paired with the demonstrated growth of commercial and cargo air traffic, other aircraft operators have similarly benefited from the positive industry dynamics and recognized significant growth. The U.S. business aviation industry has experienced material growth driven by the introduction of new business models and the democratization of private aviation, with flight hours increasing 34% from 2009 to 2018, representing a 3.3% compound annual growth rate. Special mission operators have also experienced material growth as governments and municipalities continue to outsource aircraft operation services such as air ambulance, search and rescue, firefighting, passenger transport charter and Department of Defense contract work.
The growing demand for air traffic across all end markets has fueled financial growth across the various aviation sub-sectors, including businesses that provide services to aircraft operators such as aircraft maintenance, airport services, aircraft and engine leasing and others. Many of these services providers focus on numerous end markets, benefitting from increased spend by commercial airlines, cargo airlines, and other aircraft operators as their businesses grew in response to increased demand. We believe these aerospace and aviation services providers have further benefitted from increased outsourcing trends as operators focus on their core competencies and employ outside businesses to replace previously in-house operations, including supply chain management, aircraft maintenance and a wide range of other services. Boeing forecasts the commercial aviation services market to total $9.1 trillion over the next 20 years, growing at 4.1% annually from 2019 to 2038.
The COVID-19 Pandemic Has Adversely Affected the Aerospace and Aviation Services Sectors
The long-term growth experienced by the aerospace and aviation services industries continued until the global COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, which adversely affected the industry in an unprecedented manner. In an attempt to contain the spread of the virus, global government agencies enacted travel restrictions and advised citizens to quarantine, materially suppressing air traffic demand. In response to the decreased demand, commercial airlines around the world reduced their capacity by 80% year-over-year in June 2020 and parked as much as 78% of the global fleet in Q2 2020.
In an attempt to mitigate the adverse effects of COVID-19 on their businesses, aircraft operators, as they have done in response to previous disruptions, have enacted multiple operational measures to preserve liquidity and cash flow--including limiting flight operations, reducing aircraft orders and deliveries, retiring select aircraft platforms early and pursuing lease deferrals and rental holidays—all of which have meaningfully impacted other sectors of the aerospace supply chain.
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Strong Underlying Fundamentals and Expected Recovery Create a Unique Opportunity to Invest in the Industry
Despite the global aerospace and aviation services industries experiencing significant challenges due to COVID-19, most industry professionals expect a steady recovery post-pandemic. Previous industry disruptions, including September 11th, 2001 and the 2008 global financial crisis, resulted in a sudden reduction in demand for air traffic; however, in both instances, traffic recovered to previous levels within three years and was followed by years of consistent year-over-year growth. While IATA expects passenger traffic in 2020 to decline by 63% versus 2019, they forecast RPMs to surpass 2019 levels in 2024. This forecast includes 75% growth in 2021 on depressed 2020 levels. As traffic returns to historical levels, services providers whose businesses are driven by aircraft movements or flight hours are likely to experience a correlated recovery in demand.
Demand Drivers Have Shown Consistent Near-Term Resiliency Following Periods of Disruption
This forecasted recovery is supported by recent positive data points, including (i) air travel-related Google searches up 25% and (ii) flight volumes in June 2020 increased to ~14% of 2019 levels versus 9% of 2019 levels in May 2020. This recent recovery is being driven largely by domestic markets, with international air travel expected to begin seeing improvement as restrictions are lifted. Operators have begun to increase capacity in expectation of returned demand, with June 2020 domestic ASKs at 44% of 2019 levels (versus 31% in May). This slow re-introduction of capacity has also resulted in airlines bringing parked aircraft back into the active fleet.
Air cargo traffic is also beginning to see signs of recovery with May 2020 levels down only 20% year-over-year and June 2020 levels only 18% below June 2019 as manufacturing output stabilized globally and certain government travel bans were lifted. Separately, while demand for passenger and cargo airline traffic is returning, so is the demand for private aviation travel, but at a much faster rate. Private aviation operators are reporting increased demand volumes and Argus International, an aviation industry market intelligence company, reported that private aviation flight activity has returned to 80% of pre-COVID levels as of July 2020. Additionally, many private aviation operators are stating that they are responding to an unprecedented level of inbounds from potential new clients, reflecting an expansion of the total addressable market for private aviation operators. This recovery experienced by aircraft operators will directly result in growth of aerospace and aviation services businesses, which depend on air traffic trends to drive demand for their services.
While we have confidence in the expected recovery of the aerospace and aviation services sectors, many high-quality companies will continue to face growth concerns in the medium-term. Many of these businesses have either received support from government agencies or short-term relief from banks, although we believe that this funding will not be sufficient to support business growth or acquisitions throughout the recovery period. We therefore believe that the
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financial and human capital we can provide will be critical as the aerospace and aviation service sectors’ revenue historically recovers faster than their airline and air cargo clients, as equipment and facilities need to be updated ahead of the demand upturn. In addition, airline and air cargo clients historically outsource more services both in kind and in amounts higher than before industry-wide disruptions. The industry-wide disruption due to COVID-19, when paired with these high-quality companies’ strong competitive positions and management teams, presents a unique opportunity for us to capitalize on attractive valuations while benefitting significant built-in growth over the next three to five years.
Our Strategy is to Acquire a Leading Market Participant that Can Grow through Commercial and Operational Improvements and Further Acquisitions as the Overall Aerospace and Aviation Services Industries Recover
We will provide permanent capital to a business that primarily operates in the aerospace and aviation services sectors. Our goal is to acquire a business in our target industries with leading market positions and strong business fundamentals that can serve as a platform for additional acquisitions and benefit from operational improvements to enhance shareholder value and create a premier mid-cap public aerospace and aviation services company. Many of these leading businesses have had very little exposure to mid-cap public investors, as they have grown through family or private equity ownership. Our target business will significantly benefit from the experience and proven track record of our preeminent purpose-built management team, board of directors and advisory committee with over 325 cumulative years of relevant business and financial experience and a record of over $70 billion in value-added acquisitions. We believe that the present market conditions present an opportune time to acquire businesses at historically low valuations and generate attractive returns for our shareholders. We anticipate that our initial business combination target will be a platform for future add-on acquisitions with the goal of becoming an integrated provider offering a broad range of services across the global aerospace and aviation services end markets and a premier, public aerospace and aviation services company. We intend to focus on target businesses that offer differentiated products and services to commercial passenger airlines, cargo airlines or other aircraft operators.
We will seek to effectively employ our management team, board of directors and advisory committee’s industry skills and experience as well as their extensive personal network to add substantial value to any acquired company. These benefits include the following:
| ∎ | Expertise in growing successful aerospace and aviation services companies: Our management team, board of directors and advisory committee have a track record of founding, building, growing and investing in aerospace and aviation services companies. We believe we can leverage our differentiated industry experiences to acquire target businesses at historically attractive valuations and assist these businesses in their recovery from the COVID-19 crisis and grow these businesses on a global scale. We are confident in our ability to identify and pursue efficiencies in target companies and create operational leverage. |
| ∎ | Ability to complement and support strong executive teams: Members of our management team, board of directors and advisory committee have served on public and private boards of directors within the aerospace and aviation services markets. They have played a critical role in identifying and overseeing numerous acquisitions and have a demonstrated track record of successfully managing purpose-built platforms. We believe they can effectively work with exceptional management teams in target companies to provide significant competitive insight and drive value to shareholders. We believe the long-standing relationships of our management team, board of directors and advisory committee with proven industry executives and investors give us a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining premium talent within the industry. |
| ∎ | Maximize the value of becoming a publicly traded entity: As a public entity, we believe we offer a wide range of advantages to stakeholders. These include but are not limited to broader access to debt and equity for growth; an acquisition currency, provision of wealth creation for employees; and expansion of branding in the marketplace. |
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Acquisition Criteria
When we evaluate candidate companies, we expect to use the following, non-exclusive criteria for determining opportunities.
| ∎ | Services and End Market Focus: We intend to pursue targets that provide the following types of services to one or a combination of commercial passenger airlines, cargo airlines, business aviation operators or special mission operators: |
| BUSINESS TYPE / SERVICE OFFERING | ||||
| Asset Management | Aircraft and engine leasing, aircraft management | |||
| Aircraft Services | Aircraft maintenance, distribution, supply chain management | |||
| Airport Services | Cargo and ground handling, passenger support services | |||
| Aerospace Technology | Aviation software, predictive maintenance, continuing airworthiness management organization (“CAMO”) | |||
| Operators | Cargo, passenger transport, special mission, private aviation operators | |||
| ∎ | Size: We intend to target entities whose enterprise value is between $500 million and $1 billion. These companies have a strong standing with either U.S. clients or European clients, as well as an international following. |
| ∎ | Strong Industry and Competitive Position: We intend to target companies that have built a strong, defensible niche within the aerospace and aviation services market. Our target companies have likely experienced significant disruption to their businesses due to COVID-19 but are characterized by robust business fundamentals including strong customer relationships, recurring revenue streams and positive industry trends in the long-term. |
| ∎ | Attractively Valued: We are disciplined, valuation-centric investors with a demonstrated history of strong returns in both the public and private markets. We are committed to investing in companies that are attractively valued relative to their public comparable companies and would similarly benefit from post-closing add-on acquisitions. We believe there are a significant number of actionable opportunities due to the large percentage of private equity-based businesses operating in the aerospace and aviation services sectors and intend to capitalize on current market dynamics to acquire businesses in the sector at attractive valuations. |
| ∎ | Public Readiness: We intend to invest in strong management teams that could benefit from our extensive networks and insights within the aerospace and aviation services sectors. We believe our history of deeply rooted relationships with industry executives, as well as leading private and public equity investors, will assist us in finding an attractive business that will benefit from being public. |
Sourcing of Potential Initial Business Combination Targets
Our management team and sponsor has developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships. This network has been developed through their experience in sourcing, acquiring, operating, developing, growing, financing and selling businesses; reputations for integrity and fair dealing with sellers, capital providers and target management teams; and experience in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. This network has provided our management team and sponsor with a flow of referrals that have resulted in numerous transactions. We believe that the network of contacts and relationships of our management team and sponsor will provide us with an important source of business combination opportunities. In addition, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment banking firms, private equity firms, consultants, accounting firms and other business enterprises.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or completing the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a target that is affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, we, or a
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committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, stating that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
As more fully discussed in “Management—Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our executive officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Certain of our executive officers currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers and directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Initial Business Combination
NYSE rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses. We may however, structure our initial business combination in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders, or for other reasons. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our issued and outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of the NYSE’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as our initial business combination for purposes of seeking shareholder approval or conducting a tender offer, as applicable.
The net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants released to us from the trust account upon the closing of our initial business combination may be used as consideration to pay the sellers of a target business with which we complete our initial business combination. If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction businesses, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the
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purchase of other companies or for working capital. In addition, we may be required to obtain additional financing in connection with the closing of our initial business combination to be used following the closing for general corporate purposes as described above. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would only complete such financing simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our sponsor, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. We may also obtain financing prior to the closing of our initial business combination to fund our working capital needs and transaction costs in connection with our search for and completion of our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Our Business Combination Process
In evaluating prospective business combinations, we expect to conduct a due diligence review process that will encompass, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors and, as applicable, on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We will also utilize the expertise of our management team and board of directors in analyzing companies and evaluating operating projections, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Our sponsor and members of our management team are, in the ordinary course of business, continuously made aware of potential acquisition or investment opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for an initial business combination. We have not, however, selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to an initial business combination with us.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors become aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, in different fields than what we would be interested in, or that such fiduciary duties or contractual obligations are to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her
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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.
Our Management Team
Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the initial business combination process.
We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies will provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Management” for a more complete description of our management team’s experience.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with shareholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares, stock or other equity interests in the target business for our Class A ordinary shares (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our Class A ordinary shares and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.
Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost-effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses and market and other uncertainties in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with shareholders’ interests and the ability to use its shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
While we believe that our structure and our management team’s backgrounds will make us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seek shareholder approval of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.
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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A ordinary shares that is 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 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Financial Position
With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of $193,000,000, after payment of $7,000,000 of deferred underwriting fees (or $221,950,000 after payment of up to $8,050,000 of deferred underwriting fees if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, we have not taken any steps to secure third-party financing and there can be no assurance it will be available to us.
Effecting Our Initial Business Combination
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time following this offering. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of this offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of this offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemption of our public shares, we may use the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account following the closing for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the
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proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses with enterprise values that are greater than we could acquire with the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and, as a result, if the cash portion of the purchase price exceeds the amount available from the trust account, net of amounts needed to satisfy any redemptions by public shareholders, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek shareholder approval of such financing. There is no limitation on our ability to raise funds through the issuance of equity or equity-linked securities or through loans, advances or other indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, including pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following consummation of this offering. At this time, we are not a party to any arrangement or understanding with any third party with respect to raising any additional funds through the sale of securities or otherwise. None of our sponsor, officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that, following this offering and prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will be prohibited from issuing additional securities that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote as a class with our public shares (a) on any initial business combination or (b) to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) extend the time we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) amend the foregoing provisions, unless (in connection with any such amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association) we offer our public shareholders the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Sources of Target Businesses
We anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us by 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 many of these sources will have read this prospectus and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and its 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, conferences 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 and our sponsor and their respective industry and business contacts as well as their affiliates. 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, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the Company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered 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). Although none of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination, we do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination.
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The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
As more fully discussed in the section of this prospectus entitled “Management — Conflicts of Interest,” if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Selection of a Target Business and Structuring of our Initial Business Combination
NYSE rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). The fair market value of our initial business combination will be determined by our board of directors based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community, such as discounted cash flow valuation, a valuation based on trading multiples of comparable public businesses or a valuation based on the financial metrics of M&A transactions of comparable businesses. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination (including with the assistance of financial advisors), we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, it may be unable to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the business of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects. We do not intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. Subject to this requirement, our management will have virtually unrestricted flexibility in identifying and selecting one or more prospective target businesses, although we will not be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations.
In any case, we will only complete an initial business combination in which we own or acquire 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquire a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. If we own or acquire less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses, the portion of such business or businesses that are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company is what will be taken into account for purposes of the NYSE’s 80% of net assets test. There is no basis for investors in this offering to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any target business with which we may complete our initial business combination.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
In evaluating a prospective business target, we expect to conduct a due diligence review, which may encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent ownership, management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
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The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| ∎ | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and |
| ∎ | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following our initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other legal reasons. The Companies Law and Cayman Islands law do not currently require, and we are not aware of any other applicable law that will require, shareholder approval of our initial business combination.
Under the NYSE’s listing rules, shareholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ∎ | we issue Class A ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of Class A ordinary shares then outstanding; |
| ∎ | any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired and if the number of |
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| ordinary shares to be issued, or if the number of ordinary shares into which the securities may be convertible or exercisable, exceeds either (a) 1% of the number of ordinary shares or 1% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any of our directors and officers or (b) 5% of the number of ordinary shares or 5% of the voting power outstanding before the issuance in the case of any substantial security holders; or |
| ∎ | the issuance or potential issuance of ordinary shares will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which shareholder approval is not required by law will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and legal reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
| ∎ | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine shareholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek shareholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the Company; |
| ∎ | the expected cost of holding a shareholder vote; |
| ∎ | the risk that the shareholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; |
| ∎ | other time and budget constraints of the Company; and |
| ∎ | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to shareholders. |
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares or warrants our initial shareholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NYSE rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. 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. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.
Subsequent to the consummation of this offering, we will adopt an insider trading policy which will require insiders to: (i) refrain from purchasing our securities during certain blackout periods when they are in possession of any material non-public information and (ii) clear all trades of company securities with a compliance officer prior to execution. We cannot currently determine whether our insiders will make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan, as it will be dependent upon several factors, including but not limited to, the timing and size of such purchases. Depending on such circumstances, our insiders may either make such purchases pursuant to a Rule 10b5-1 plan or determine that such a plan is not necessary.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders
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for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or any of their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately-negotiated purchases by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests tendered by shareholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling shareholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such shareholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Such persons would select the shareholders from whom to acquire shares based on the number of shares available, the negotiated price per share and such other factors as any such person may deem relevant at the time of purchase. The price per share paid in any such transaction may be different than the amount per share a public shareholder would receive if it elected to redeem its shares in connection with our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will be made only to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of ordinary shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.
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 as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements.
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Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares or seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association would require shareholder approval. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to comply with the NYSE’s shareholder approval rules.
The requirement that we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares by one of the two methods listed above will be contained in provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will apply whether or not we maintain our registration under the Exchange Act or our listing on the NYSE. Such provisions may be amended if approved by 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.
If we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares in connection with a general meeting, we will:
| ∎ | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and |
| ∎ | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
If we seek 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 who vote at a general meeting. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial shareholders will count towards this quorum and, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (or 7,365,001, or 36.8%, if certain of our directors purchase an aggregate of 135,000 units in this offering), of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of which Genesis Park may hold 1,000,000 shares. We intend to give not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’ prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction.
If a shareholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will:
| ∎ | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| ∎ | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination, which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares, which number will be based on the requirement that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such
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redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. We believe that this will allow our transfer agent to efficiently process any redemptions without the need for further communication or action from the redeeming public shareholders, which could delay redemptions and result in additional administrative cost. If the proposed initial business combination is not approved and we continue to search for a target company, we will promptly return any certificates or shares delivered by public shareholders who elected to redeem their shares.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial 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 initial 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 initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all 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
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. 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 initial 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 this offering
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could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in this 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 an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Delivering Share Certificates in Connection with the Exercise of Redemption Rights
As described above, we intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have up to two business days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures disclosed in the proxy or tender offer materials, as applicable, its shares may not be redeemed. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC system. The transfer agent will typically charge the broker submitting or tendering shares a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to submit or tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of this offering.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of this offering to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within such 24-month period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 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
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account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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 complete our initial business combination within the 24-month time period.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the allotted 24-month time period.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their 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 taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we will only redeem our public shares so long as (after such redemption) our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of deferred underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $1,000,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
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
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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 enter into an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to the Company, and will only enter into an agreement with such third party if our management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the Company under the circumstances. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of the offering will not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement, the form of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.00 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable; provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy their indemnity obligations, and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties, including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations, and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share.
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We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of this offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $1,000,000 from the proceeds of this offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, shareholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,000,000, we may fund such excess with funds from the funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,000,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount.
If 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 law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or 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 laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
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Comparison of Redemption or Purchase Prices in Connection with Our Initial Business Combination and if We Fail to Complete Our Initial Business Combination
The following table compares the redemptions and other permitted purchases of public shares that may take place in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering.
|
REDEMPTIONS IN CONNECTION |
OTHER PERMITTED PURCHASES OF |
REDEMPTIONS IF WE FAIL TO | ||||
| Calculation of redemption price | Redemptions at the time of our initial business combination may be made pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. The same whether we conduct redemptions pursuant to a tender offer or in connection with a shareholder vote. In either case, our public shareholders may redeem their public shares for cash equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share), including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitation that no redemptions will take place, if all of the redemptions would cause our net tangible assets will be at least $5,000,001 either immediately prior to or upon consummation of our initial business combination and any limitations (including, but not limited to, cash requirements) agreed to in connection with the | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares in privately-negotiated transactions or in the open market prior to or following completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit to the prices that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may pay in these transactions. Such purchases will be made only to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares in such transactions. | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will redeem 100% of the public shares at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount, then on deposit in the trust account (which is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share including, interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses)), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. |
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|
REDEMPTIONS IN CONNECTION |
OTHER PERMITTED PURCHASES OF |
REDEMPTIONS IF WE FAIL TO | ||||
| negotiation of terms of a proposed initial business combination. | ||||||
| Impact to remaining shareholders | The redemptions in connection with our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for our remaining shareholders, who will bear the burden of the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable. | If the permitted purchases described above are made there would be no impact to our remaining shareholders because the purchase price would not be paid by us. | The redemption of our public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination will reduce the book value per share for the shares held by our initial shareholders, who will be our only remaining shareholders after such redemptions. |
Comparison of This Offering to Those of Blank Check Companies Subject to Rule 419
The following table compares the terms of this offering to the terms of an offering by a blank check company subject to the provisions of Rule 419. This comparison assumes that the gross proceeds, underwriting commissions and underwriting expenses of our offering would be identical to those of an offering undertaken by a company subject to Rule 419, and that the underwriters will not exercise their over-allotment option. None of the provisions of Rule 419 apply to our offering.
| TERMS OF OUR OFFERING |
TERMS UNDER A RULE 419 OFFERING | |||
| Escrow of offering proceeds | $200,000,000 of the net proceeds of this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be deposited into a trust account in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee. | Approximately $170,100,000 of the offering proceeds would be deposited into either an escrow account with an insured depositary institution or in a separate bank account established by a broker-dealer in which the broker-dealer acts as trustee for persons having the beneficial interests in the account. | ||
| Investment of net proceeds | $200,000,000 of the net offering proceeds and the sale of the private placement warrants held in trust will be invested only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. | Proceeds could be invested only in specified securities such as a money market fund meeting conditions of the Investment Company Act or in securities that are direct obligations of, or obligations guaranteed as to principal or interest by, the United States. | ||
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| TERMS OF OUR OFFERING |
TERMS UNDER A RULE 419 OFFERING | |||
| Receipt of interest on escrowed funds | Interest on proceeds from the trust account to be paid to redeeming shareholders is reduced by (i) any income or franchise taxes paid or payable, and (ii) in the event of our liquidation for failure to complete our initial business combination within the allotted time, up to $100,000 of net interest that may be released to us should we have no or insufficient working capital to fund the costs and expenses of our dissolution and liquidation. | Interest on funds in escrow account would be held for the sole benefit of investors, unless and only after the funds held in escrow were released to us in connection with our completion of a business combination. | ||
| Limitation on fair value or net assets of target business | NYSE rules require that we must consummate an initial business combination with one or more operating businesses or assets with a fair market value equal to at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions). | The fair value or net assets of a target business must represent at least 80% of the maximum offering proceeds. | ||
| Trading of securities issued | We expect the units will begin trading on or promptly after the date of this prospectus. The Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Jefferies LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. We will file the Current Report on Form 8-K promptly after the closing of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days from the date of this prospectus. If the over-allotment option is exercised following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, an additional Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the over-allotment option. | No trading of the units or the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants would be permitted until the completion of a business combination. During this period, the securities would be held in the escrow or trust account. | ||
| Exercise of the warrants | The warrants cannot be exercised until the later of 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and 12 months from the closing of this offering. | The warrants could be exercised prior to the completion of a business combination, but securities received and cash paid in connection with the exercise would be deposited in the escrow or trust account. | ||
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| TERMS OF OUR OFFERING |
TERMS UNDER A RULE 419 OFFERING | |||
| Election to remain an investor | We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein. We may not be required by law to hold a shareholder vote. We intend to give approximately 30 days’ (but not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. If we are not required by law and do not otherwise decide to hold a shareholder vote, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC which will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. If, however, we hold a shareholder vote, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules. 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 who vote at a general meeting. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. | A prospectus containing information pertaining to the business combination required by the SEC would be sent to each investor. Each investor would be given the opportunity to notify the company in writing, within a period of no less than 20 business days and no more than 45 business days from the effective date of a post-effective amendment to the company’s registration statement, to decide if it elects to remain a shareholder of the company or require the return of its investment. If the company has not received the notification by the end of the 45th business day, funds and interest or dividends, if any, held in the trust or escrow account are automatically returned to the shareholder. Unless a sufficient number of investors elect to remain investors, all funds on deposit in the escrow account must be returned to all of the investors and none of the securities are issued. |
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| TERMS OF OUR OFFERING |
TERMS UNDER A RULE 419 OFFERING | |||
| Business combination deadline | If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, 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. | If a business combination has not been completed within 24 months after the effective date of our registration statement, funds held in the trust or escrow account are returned to investors. | ||
| Limitation on redemption rights of shareholders holding more than 15% of the shares sold in this offering if we hold a shareholder vote | 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 will provide that a public shareholder (including our affiliates), 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 seeking redemption rights with respect to Excess Shares (more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in this offering). Our public shareholders’ inability to redeem Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and they could suffer a material loss on their investment in us if they sell any Excess Shares in open market transactions. | Many blank check companies provide no restrictions on the ability of shareholders to redeem shares based on the number of shares held by such shareholders in connection with an initial business combination. | ||
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| TERMS OF OUR OFFERING |
TERMS UNDER A RULE 419 OFFERING | |||
| Tendering share certificates in connection with a tender offer or redemption rights | We intend to require our public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to, at the holder’s option, either deliver their share certificates to our transfer agent or deliver their shares to our transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) system, prior to the date set forth in the proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable. In the case of proxy materials, this date may be up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination. In addition, if we conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote, we intend to require a public shareholder seeking redemption of its public shares to also submit a written request for redemption to our transfer agent two business days prior to the vote in which the name of the beneficial owner of such shares is included. The proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public shareholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have up to two business days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, or from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, as applicable, to submit or tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. | In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, holders could vote against a proposed initial business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holders were seeking to exercise their redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the Company would contact such shareholders to arrange for them to deliver their certificate to verify ownership. |
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| TERMS OF OUR OFFERING |
TERMS UNDER A RULE 419 OFFERING | |||
| Release of funds | Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (A) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of 100% of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time frame (subject to the requirements of applicable law). On the completion of our initial business combination, all amounts held in the trust account will be released to us, less amounts released to a separate account controlled by the trustee for disbursal to redeeming shareholders. We will use these funds to pay amounts due to any public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights as described above under “Redemption rights for public shareholders upon completion of our initial business combination,” to pay the underwriters their deferred underwriting commissions, to pay all or a portion of the consideration payable to the target or owners of the target of our initial business combination and to pay other expenses associated with our initial business combination. | The proceeds held in the escrow account are not released until the earlier of the completion of a business combination or the failure to effect a business combination within the allotted time. |
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and
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effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the initial business combination 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
Our executive offices are located at 2000 Edwards Street, Suite B, Houston, Texas 77007, and our telephone number is (713) 489-4650. Our executive offices are currently provided to us by our sponsor, until such time as we may enter into a lease for office space with an unaffiliated third party, in an amount not to exceed $15,000 per month, following consummation of this offering. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Employees
We currently have three officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We will register 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 accounting firm.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents sent to shareholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need 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 targets we may conduct an initial business combination with 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 business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP 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 business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer, and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination. Prior to the date of this prospectus, we will file a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we will be subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our 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 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacity as such.
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Officers, Directors and Director Nominees
Upon completion of this offering, our directors and officers will be as follows:
| NAME |
AGE | POSITION | ||||
| David N. Siegel |
58 | Chairman | ||||
| Paul W. Hobby |
60 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||||
| Jonathan E. Baliff |
56 | President and Chief Financial Officer and Director | ||||
| David Bilger |
32 | Executive Vice President | ||||
| Wayne Gilbert West |
59 | Director | ||||
| Richard H. Anderson |
65 | Director | ||||
| Andrea Fischer Newman |
62 | Director | ||||
| Thomas Dan Friedkin |
55 | Director | ||||
David N. Siegel will serve as Chairman of our board of directors as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Siegel has 30 years of experience in the aerospace and aviation industries and possesses deep relationships across the entire aerospace supply chain. He currently serves as Executive Chairman of Sun Country Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier (“ULCC”), which he joined in April 2018, and as Chairman of Volotea, a Spanish low-cost airline, which he joined in April 2018. Since October 2017, Mr. Siegel has acted as a Senior Advisor for Apollo and in that capacity assisted Apollo in the acquisition of portfolio companies Sun Country Airlines and Volotea. From April 2016 to September 2017, Mr. Siegel served as Chief Executive Officer of aircraft leasing company AWAS. During his time as CEO, Mr. Siegel demonstrated his ability to effectively run global operations by managing $8.4 billion in total assets through AWAS’s committed fleet of 261 aircraft across 45 countries. Prior to joining AWAS, Mr. Siegel served as Chief Executive Officer for a number of operators, including Frontier Airlines from 2012 to 2015, XOJET from 2008 to 2010 and US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC) from 2002 to 2004. At the helm of Frontier Airlines, Mr. Siegel successfully transitioned the airline to become a profitable ULCC in 2014. Prior to running Frontier Airlines, Mr. Siegel was Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of XOJET, where he launched fixed coast-to-coast pricing options that solidified the company’s position as a key player in the transcontinental charter market. In June 2004, Mr. Siegel became the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gate Gourmet Group Inc., the world’s largest independent airline catering and logistics provider. Prior to his departure in December 2008, Mr. Siegel guided the company through an operational and financial restructuring that tripled the enterprise value. Additionally, Mr. Siegel implemented a strategic mergers and acquisitions growth strategy that created a portfolio of eleven companies, operating under the umbrella brand Gategroup, which specialized in in-flight products and services. After being asked to join US Airways Group as Chief Executive Officer in March 2002, Mr. Siegel successfully guided the company through bankruptcy and returned it to profitability in 2003. Prior to US Airways, Mr. Siegel was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avis Rent A Car System, Inc., joining six weeks before the September 11th terrorist attacks. While at Avis, Mr. Siegel helped navigate the company through challenging times, including a steep drop in travel demand. He also led Avis’s acquisition of Budget Group for $107.5 million to further grow the leisure segment of the company and create the second largest car rental company in the world, Avis Budget Group. After beginning his career as a consultant at Bain & Company, where he worked from 1983 to 1990, Mr. Siegel served in various senior management roles at Continental (formerly NYSE:CAL) and Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA). Mr. Siegel holds a B.S. from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Paul W. Hobby will serve as Chief Executive Officer and Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He is a Founding Partner at Genesis Park LP, a Houston-based private equity firm specializing in growth businesses, distressed situations and public company carveouts. Mr. Hobby maintains extensive relationships with industry-leading aviation executives, private equity firms, family offices and privately owned businesses across the aerospace and aviation sectors. Additionally he has over 20 years of sourcing experience focused on alignment and partnership with management teams and shareholders. At Genesis Park, directly and through its portfolio companies, Mr. Hobby has recapitalized and redirected ten public company
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divisions in multiple industries. For two of those transactions, Mr. Hobby served as Chief Executive Officer post-acquisition: (i) at Texas Monthly, LLC from 2016 to 2019 and (ii) at Alpheus Communications, LLC, a fiber optic network and data center provider, from 2004 to 2011. In another carveout from a bankrupt parent, he served as Chairman of CapRock Services, Inc. from 2002 to 2007 and as a director of CapRock from 2007 to 2011. Under his firm’s leadership, the CapRock business grew from $24 million in revenue to over $600 million to become one of the largest providers of satellite services globally. Furthermore, Mr. Hobby has served on the board of directors of NRG (NYSE:NRG), a leading integrated power company, since March 2006. In an activist posture, he became a member of the board of directors of Flotek Industries, Inc. (NYSE:FTK) in March of 2019, where he facilitated the retirement of the incumbent CEO and recruited a new management team to redirect the company. Mr. Hobby is former Chairman of the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the Greater Houston Partnership, the Texas Business Hall of Fame, the Texas General Services Commission and the Texas Ethics Commission, and today serves on the Baylor College of Medicine Board of Trustees. He also served on the board of directors of Global Logistics, Stewart Title, Coastal Banc, Amegy Bank and Aronex Pharmaceuticals. Early in his career, Mr. Hobby served as Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, Chief of Staff to the Lieutenant Governor of Texas, and as an Associate at Fulbright & Jaworski. Mr. Hobby holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School.
Jonathan E. Baliff will serve as President, Chief Financial Officer and Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He has been a leader in the aviation and infrastructure sector for over 25 years, acting as a public company senior executive in addition to an investment and commercial banker. Most recently, Mr. Baliff was at Bristow (formerly NYSE:BRS), the world’s largest commercial helicopter and industrial aviation company serving the energy and government sectors, where he served first as Chief Financial Officer from 2010 to 2014 and President and Chief Executive Officer from 2014 to 2018. During his time at Bristow, the company consistently led its peers in safety, operational and financial performance with over $1.5 billion in business and long-term contract acquisitions. Despite significant turmoil in the offshore transportation services market following the 2014 global oil price collapse, Bristow continued to recognize revenue growth while Bristow’s peer group’s6 revenues fell by an average of ~10% annually with most competitors filing for bankruptcy over the same period. Bristow filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2019. Mr. Baliff is currently named as a defendant in a class-action lawsuit against Bristow and certain of its former directors and officers, which is currently entering mediation. A related derivative lawsuit has already been dismissed. Prior to joining Bristow, Mr. Baliff acted as Executive Vice President for Strategy at NRG (NYSE:NRG), the largest independent electric power generator in the United States, from 2007 to 2010. As both a banker to and an employee of NRG, Mr. Baliff was part of the team that led the company out of bankruptcy in 2004 to become a member of the Fortune 500 and systematically changed the company’s business by pursuing a retail customer and low-carbon energy strategy. This strategy included completing over $5 billion in acquisitions including the purchase of Reliant Energy and Green Mountain Energy, growing the retail footprint of NRG to over three million customers. Prior to NRG, Mr. Baliff acted as a Managing Director in Credit Suisse’s Global Energy Group from 1996 to 2007 and an associate in J.P. Morgan’s Natural Resources Group from 1995 to 1996, where he was responsible for corporate finance and M&A executions during the era of natural gas and electric utility deregulation, with over $50 billion in M&A transactions and financings completed. Additionally, Mr. Baliff served on active duty in the U.S. Air Force from 1985 to 1993 as an aviator flying the F-4 Phantom fighter aircraft. Currently, Mr. Baliff serves on the board of directors and Risk Committee of Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:TCBI), the parent company of Texas Capital Bank. Mr. Baliff has served on the Board of TCBI since 2017, during which period the company generated an average annual increase in net income available to common shareholders of 29.1%. Mr. Baliff holds a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
David Bilger will serve as our Executive Vice President as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. He has served as Principal at Genesis Park LP since 2019, where he focuses on sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities in addition to monitoring and developing active portfolio companies. Mr. Bilger previously served as Managing Director at Kuleana Capital, a long / short public equity manager, from 2016 to 2019, and as a private equity investment professional at NGP Energy Capital Management, a
| 6 | Peer group includes Era Group, Inc., Kirby Corporation, Bourbon SA, SEACOR Holdings Inc., DOF ASA, Solstad Offshore ASA, Tidewater Inc. and Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. |
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private equity firm with $20 billion of cumulative equity commitments, from 2012 to 2014. He began his career in the investment banking division of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Mr. Bilger holds a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Wayne Gilbert West will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, unless the effective date of the registration is prior to October 5, 2020, in which case, Mr. West will serve as a Director as of October 5, 2020. Throughout his over 30 years of experience, Mr. West has held a multitude of leadership roles across the aerospace and aviation industries, including positions at Boeing (NYSE:BA), Delta (NYSE:DAL), Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) and United (NASDAQ:UAL). While at Delta, from 2008 to 2020, Mr. West held a variety of roles, including Senior Vice President of Airport Customer Service and Technical Operations, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. While Chief Operating Officer from 2014 to 2020, Mr. West managed a team of over 70,000 employees and was responsible for managing safe, reliable operations globally by overseeing the fleet, technical operations and asset procurement and performance. Prior to joining Delta, Mr. West served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Laidlaw Transit Services Inc., which provided bus transportation through intercity, interstate and interurban bus lines, from 2006 to 2007. After joining TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc. in 2001 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Mr. West served as President from 2002 to 2005 and was instrumental in achieving the company’s 4-year 5.7% compounded annual growth rate. He also served as an executive at Northwest from 1996 to 2001 and held various managerial positions with United, Rohr Industries, Sundstrand Corporation and Boeing Commercial Aircraft. Mr. West currently serves on the board of directors of Forward Air Corporation (NASDAQ:FWRD), which he joined in October 2018, and Wheels Up, which he joined in February 2019. Mr. West holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an M.B.A. from National University in San Diego.
Richard H. Anderson will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Anderson served as Chief Executive Officer of Delta (NYSE:DAL) from September 2007 to May 2016 and was Executive Chairman from May 2016 until his retirement in October 2016. He joined Delta as the company was emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy court protection and played the main leadership role in leading Delta to achieve an average annual revenue growth rate of 8.4% and taking the company from a $4.5 billion market capitalization in 2007 to a $29.1 billion market capitalization in 2016. Mr. Anderson led Delta to record profitability – from bankruptcy to GAAP pre-tax income of $7.1 billion and return on invested capital of 28% in 2015, his final year running Delta. Furthermore, in October 2008, Mr. Anderson led Delta to complete the acquisition of Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) for an aggregate value of $2.7 billion. Prior to his time at Delta, Mr. Anderson served as Executive Vice President and President of Commercial Services at UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) from 2004 to 2007 and led the formation of Optum. Prior to UnitedHealth, Mr. Anderson was at Northwest, which he joined in 1990 and served as Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Chief Operating Officer prior to his role as Chief Executive Officer from 2001 to 2004. During his time at Northwest, Mr. Anderson led the company to experience a compounded annual revenue growth rate of 4.4% from 2001 to 2004. Most recently, Mr. Anderson served as the volunteer President and Chief Executive Officer of National Railroad Passenger Corporation (“Amtrak”) from June 2017 to April 2020. During his time at Amtrak, the company reported record ridership and revenues and cut operating losses to near breakeven. Mr. Anderson currently serves on the board of directors of Medtronic plc, which he joined in 2004, and the board of directors of Cargill Inc., which he joined in 2006. Mr. Anderson served on the board of directors of Northwest, Delta, Mesaba Aviation, Inc., Xcel Energy Inc. and Securian Financial Group, Inc., and he was elected Chairman of Airlines for America and Chairman of the International Air Transportation Association while CEO at Delta. He also was selected by the FAA as the Chairman of the Next Gen Advisory Committee. Mr. Anderson holds a B.S. from the University of Houston, Clear Lake City, and a J.D. from the South Texas College of Law, Houston.
Andrea Fischer Newman will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. For over 25 years, Ms. Newman has worked at the intersection of business, law, policy and politics. From 2008 to 2017, Ms. Newman served as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) (“Delta”), where she led Delta’s efforts to reform the Export-Import Bank, as well as its work to secure bilateral aviation agreements between the U.S. and foreign countries. While managing government affairs throughout global fuel price increases and the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, Ms. Newman was vital in
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maintaining and developing strategies to further Delta’s interests domestically and internationally. Prior to Delta, Ms. Newman was at Northwest Airlines Corp (formerly NYSE:NWA) (“Northwest”) for thirteen years, where she served as Vice President from 1995 to 2001 and Senior Vice President from 2001 to 2008. While at Northwest, Ms. Newman helped lead the airline industry in significant initiatives, including legislation impacting airline pensions, global competitiveness and the industry’s response to the September 11th attacks. Ms. Newman also played an active role in the merger and integration of Northwest and Delta and managed government relations through Northwest’s bankruptcy. Earlier on in her career, Ms. Newman was at Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone (“Miller, Canfield”) for almost seven years, where she served as Senior Legal Counsel from 1988 to 1992 and Senior Partner from 1992 to 1994. Prior to her time at Miller, Canfield, Ms. Newman served as Deputy Assistant to the Vice President of the United States from 1985 to 1986 and as Special Counsel to the Assistant Secretary of Defense from 1986 to 1987. Ms. Newman currently serves on the board of directors for PrimeFlight Aviation Services, Sun Country Airlines and Sequitur Energy Resources. She holds a B.A. with Honors in History from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from The George Washington University Law School.
Thomas Dan Friedkin will serve as a Director as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Friedkin is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Friedkin Group, a privately held consortium of businesses and investments in the automotive, entertainment and hospitality industries. Mr. Friedkin is also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf States Toyota, a subsidiary of The Friedkin Group and one of the world’s largest independent distributors of Toyota vehicles and parts, serving more than 150 dealers. Under Mr. Friedkin’s leadership, Gulf States Toyota sold $9 billion of vehicles in 2018. Gulf States Toyota has consistently been recognized by the Houston Chronicle as one of the “Top Private Companies” in Houston and was recognized by Forbes as one of America’s “Best Midsize Employers.” Furthermore, Mr. Friedkin founded media investment company 30West, which controls Neon Group, the company responsible for funding the release and distribution of Oscar best picture, Parasite. Mr. Friedkin also founded Imperative Entertainment, which has financially backed major motion films including The Mule, The Square and I, Tonya. In addition to his experience in the media space, Mr. Friedkin also serves as Chairman of Auberge Resorts Collection, a portfolio of luxury hotels, resorts and residences, spanning across eight time zones and three continents. Mr. Friedkin also founded Pursuit Aviation, an aerial photography company that has used their breakthrough platform, known as JETCAM, to pair shot-over camera systems with aerobatic jet aircraft to perform work for acclaimed movies and television, including Dunkirk, Thor and Ray Donovan. Mr. Friedkin has a long history tied to aviation, stemming from his father, a famed aviator and owner of Carlsbad Jet Center, and grandfather, the founder of the discount airline Pacific Southwest Air. Mr. Friedkin holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. from Rice University.
Advisory Committee Members
Nina Jonsson will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Ms. Jonsson is a senior international aviation executive with over 30 years of industry experience, including over 20 years at four major airlines: Air France-KLM SA (ENXTPA:AF), United (NASDAQ:UAL), US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC) and Delta (NYSE:DAL). While serving as Director of Fleet Planning for United, Ms. Jonsson grew the company’s owned mainline fleet by 46.7%, or 115 aircraft, from 2006 to 2011. Currently, Ms. Jonsson serves as Senior Advisor for Plane View Partners, LLC and is on the board of directors of Icelandair Group hf. (ICSE:ICEAIR) and FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. (TSXV:FLY). She also has extensive M&A and reorganization experience having worked on major mergers within the aviation space, including United and Continental’s $3.2 billion merger announced in 2010, and has led businesses through various industry cycles. Ms. Jonsson has an M.B.A. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a B.S. from University of New Haven.
John S. Bolton will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Bolton has over 30 years of industry executive experience, including seven years as President of Honeywell’s (NYSE:HON) Aerospace Air Transport & Regional business, a $4.7 billion revenue per year global business enterprise that provides original equipment and aftermarket products and services to the aviation segments. He also spent three years as Vice President leading Honeywell’s Aftermarket for the Business & General Aviation Strategic Business Unit, where he leveraged extensive cross-functional, product and customer experience to provide strategic and tactical leadership to this $1.2 billion business. Mr. Bolton is currently the Owner and President of Blu Sky Edge Corp, an aviation commercial propulsion engine leasing and product sales company. Mr. Bolton holds a B.S. from Clarkson University in New York and an M.B.A. from Duke University.
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Dave Davis will act as an Advisor as of the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Mr. Davis currently serves as President, Chief Financial Officer and member of the board of directors of Sun Country Airlines, a private equity-backed low-cost airline providing scheduled passenger, charter and cargo services. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Northwest (formerly NYSE:NWA) and US Airways (formerly NYSE:LCC), as well as a member of the board of directors of Globecomm Systems Inc., ARINC Corp. and Lumexis Corp. During his eight-year tenure at Northwest, Mr. Davis served in multiple roles, including as Chief Financial Officer, where he played a key role in the 2008 merger of Northwest and Delta. Mr. Davis has also served in other senior executive positions, including as Chief Executive Officer and member of the board of directors of Global Eagle (NASDAQ:ENT), a major provider of inflight connectivity systems, until 2017. While at Global Eagle, he was a key leader in the company’s IPO through a successful SPAC merger in 2013. Mr. Davis holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics degree and an M.B.A., both from the University of Minnesota.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We will have 7 directors upon completion of this offering. Our board of directors will be 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. In accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one full 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 Messrs. Anderson and Baliff, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Friedkin and Hobby, will expire at the second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Ms. Newman and Messrs. West and Siegel, will expire at the third annual general meeting.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint 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 will 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.
Director Independence
NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Friedkin and Siegel and Ms. Newman are “independent directors” as defined in the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our officers and directors prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.
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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 documents furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Advisory Committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish an advisory committee for the purpose of assisting the board of directors and management with sourcing and evaluating business opportunities and devising plans and strategies to optimize any business that we acquire. Our advisory committee will be comprised of veteran industry executives who will provide us with deep aerospace and aviation services expertise and extensive relationship networks from which we intend to source and evaluate targets and develop post-acquisition operating strategies. We will not have any formal arrangements or agreements with the members of our advisory committee to provide services to us and they will have no fiduciary obligations to present business opportunities to us. Nevertheless, we believe they will be helpful to our search for a target business and our consummation of a business combination.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors will have three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, NYSE rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and NYSE rules require that the compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee of a listed company each be comprised solely of independent directors.
Audit Committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish an audit committee of our board of directors. Messrs. Friedkin and Siegel and Ms. Newman will serve as members of our audit committee, and Ms. Newman will chair the audit committee.
Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Friedkin and Siegel and Ms. Newman meet the independent director standard under NYSE listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.
Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Siegel qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
We will adopt an audit committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| ∎ | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
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| ∎ | pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| ∎ | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations; |
| ∎ | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ∎ | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence; |
| ∎ | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| ∎ | reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will establish a compensation committee of our board of directors. Messrs. Friedkin and Siegel and Ms. Newman will serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Messrs. Friedkin and Siegel and Ms. Newman are independent and Mr. Siegel will chair the compensation committee.
We will adopt a compensation committee charter, which will detail the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| ∎ | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation; |
| ∎ | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers; |
| ∎ | reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ∎ | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ∎ | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ∎ | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| ∎ | if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ∎ | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
No compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing shareholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter will also provide that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment,
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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.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Upon the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, we will establish a nominating and corporate governance committee. The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be Messrs. Friedkin and Siegel and Ms. Newman, and Mr. Friedkin will serve as chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
The primary purposes of our nominating and corporate governance committee will be to assist the board in:
| ∎ | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the board of directors; |
| ∎ | developing and recommending to the board of directors and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| ∎ | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the board of directors, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| ∎ | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The nominating and corporate governance committee will be governed by a charter that complies with the rules of the NYSE.
Director Nominations
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will recommend to the board of directors candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting of the shareholders. We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our shareholders.
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
Prior to the consummation of this offering, we will have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We will file a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit, compensation and nominating and corporate governance committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K. See the section of this prospectus entitled “Where You Can Find Additional Information.”
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Our board of directors will adopt corporate governance guidelines in accordance with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE that serve as a flexible framework within which our board of directors and its committees operate. These guidelines will cover a number of areas including board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, board agenda, roles of the chairman of the board, chief executive officer and presiding director, meetings of independent directors, committee responsibilities and assignments, board member access to
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management and independent advisors, director communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines will be posted on our website.
Conflicts of Interest
Affiliates of our management team may compete with us for business combination opportunities. If these entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from procuring such opportunities. In addition, investment ideas generated within affiliates of our management team may be suitable for both us and for another entity and may be directed to such entity rather than to us. Members of our management team who are also employed by such entities have no obligation to present us with any opportunity for a potential business combination of which they become aware, unless presented to such member solely in his or her capacity as an officer of the company. Members of our management team, in their capacities as employees or principals of their affiliates or in their other endeavors, currently are required to present certain investment opportunities and potential business combinations to the various related entities described above, or third parties, before they present such opportunities to us.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations to present the opportunity to such entity, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination, as we believe any such opportunities presented would be smaller than what we are interested in, or to entities that are not themselves in the business of engaging in business combinations. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Potential investors should also be aware of the following other potential conflicts of interest:
| ∎ | None of our officers or directors is required to commit his or her full time to our affairs and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating his or her time among various business activities. |
| ∎ | In the course of their other business activities, our officers and directors may become aware of investment and business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us, as well as the other entities with which they are affiliated. Our management may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. |
| ∎ | Our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination. Additionally, our initial shareholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to consummate our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. If we do not complete our initial business combination within such applicable time period, the proceeds of the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, and the private placement warrants will expire worthless. With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares will not be transferable, assignable by our sponsor until the earlier of: (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, 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. With |
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| certain limited exceptions, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, will not be transferable, assignable or saleable by our sponsor or its permitted transferees until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Since our sponsor and officers and directors may directly or indirectly own ordinary shares and warrants following this offering, our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. |
| ∎ | Our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination. |
| ∎ | Our sponsor, officers or directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a business combination and financing arrangements as we may obtain loans from our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or any of our officers or directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. |
The conflicts described above may not be resolved in our favor.
Accordingly, as a result of multiple business affiliations, our officers and directors may have similar legal obligations relating to presenting business opportunities meeting the above-listed criteria to multiple entities. Furthermore, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, 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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Below is a table summarizing the entities to which our officers, directors and director nominees currently have fiduciary duties or contractual obligations:
|
INDIVIDUAL(1) |
ENTITY |
ENTITY’S BUSINESS |
AFFILIATION | |||
| Paul W. Hobby | Flotek Industries, Inc. | Technology | Managing Partner | |||
| NRG Energy, Inc. | Power | Director | ||||
| Genesis Park LP(2) | Private Equity | Director | ||||
| Meriplex Communications, LTD | Technology | Managing Director | ||||
| Cloud Control Systems Holdings, LLC | Security | Director | ||||
| Layne Water Midstream Holdings, LLC | Water Management | Director | ||||
| Jonathan E. Baliff | Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. | Bank | Director | |||
| David Bilger | Genesis Park LP(2) | Private Equity | Principal | |||
| Thomas D. Friedkin | The Friedkin Group, Inc.(2) | Investments | Chairman and CEO | |||
| Gulf State Toyota, Inc. | Automobiles | Chairman and CEO | ||||
| Auberge Resorts LLC | Hotels | Director | ||||
| David N. Siegel | Apollo Global Management Inc. | Investments | Senior Advisor | |||
| Volotea | Airline | Chairman | ||||
| Sun Country, Inc. (d/b/a Sun Country Airlines) | Airline | Executive Chairman | ||||
| DNS Capital Partners(2) | Investments | Managing Partner | ||||
| Andrea Fischer Newman | Sequitur Energy Resources | Oil and Gas | Director | |||
| PrimeFlight Aviation Services | Aviation | Director | ||||
| Borden Dairy Company | Dairy | Director | ||||
| Sun Country, Inc. (d/b/a Sun Country Airlines) | Airline | Director | ||||
| The World Resident Holdings, Ltd. | Cruise Ship | Director | ||||
| Wayne Gilbert West | Forward Air Corporation | Transportation | Director | |||
| Wheels Up | Private Jets | Director | ||||
| Richard H. Anderson | Medtronic plc | Medical Devices | Director | |||
| Cargill Inc. | Food | Director | ||||
| (1) | Each of the entities listed in this table has priority and preference relative to us with respect to the performance by each individual listed in this table of his obligations and the presentation by each such individual of business opportunities. |
| (2) | Such person is a director of the indicated entity and/or its portfolio companies, and may be obligated to show acquisitions to such entity or entities before we may pursue such acquisitions. |
Accordingly, if any of the above executive officers, directors or director nominees becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for any of the above entities to which he has current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he will honor his fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, and only present it to us if such entity rejects the opportunity. We do not believe, however, that any of the foregoing fiduciary duties or contractual obligations will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with such a company, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions, that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.
Each of our officers has agreed not to become a director or officer of any other SPAC with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of this offering. For more information, see the section of this prospectus entitled “Management—Conflicts of Interest.”
In the event that we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after the offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) 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 will 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 will enter into agreements with our directors and officers to provide contractual indemnification in addition to the indemnification provided for in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. We expect to purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Except with respect to any public shares they may acquire in this offering or thereafter (in the event we do not consummate an initial business combination), our officers and directors have agreed to waive (and any other persons who may become an officer or director prior to the initial business combination will also be required to waive) any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and not to seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever, including with respect to such indemnification.
These provisions may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
We believe that these provisions, the directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and the indemnity agreements are necessary to attract and retain talented and experienced officers and directors.
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The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this prospectus, and as adjusted to reflect the sale of our ordinary shares included in the units offered by this prospectus, and assuming no purchase of units in this offering, by:
| ∎ | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares; |
| ∎ | each of our executive officers, directors and director nominees; and |
| ∎ | all our executive officers, directors and director nominees 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 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.
In July 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (up to an aggregate of 750,000 shares of which are subject to surrender for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The following table presents the number of shares and percentage of our ordinary shares owned by our initial shareholders before and after this offering. The post-offering numbers and percentages presented assume that the underwriters do not exercise their over-allotment option, that our sponsor surrenders an aggregate 750,000 founder shares on a pro rata basis, that our sponsor does not purchase any units in this offering and that there are 25,000,000 ordinary shares, consisting of (i) 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and (ii) 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, issued and outstanding after this offering.
| BEFORE OFFERING | AFTER OFFERING | |||||||||||||||
| NAME AND ADDRESS OF BENEFICIAL OWNER(1) |
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED(2) |
APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF OUTSTANDING ORDINARY SHARES |
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED(2) |
APPROXIMATE PERCENTAGE OF OUTSTANDING ORDINARY SHARES |
||||||||||||
| Genesis Park Holdings(3) |
5,750,000 | 100.0 | % | 5,000,000 | 20.0 | % | ||||||||||
| Jonathan E. Baliff |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| David Bilger |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Thomas Dan Friedkin |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Paul W. Hobby |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Andrea Fischer Newman |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| David N. Siegel |
— | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Wayne Gilbert West | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| Richard H. Anderson | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
| All executive officers and directors as a group (eight individuals) |
5,750,000 | 100.0 | % | 5,000,000 | 20.0 | % | ||||||||||
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., 2000 Edwards Street, Suite B, Houston, TX 77007. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares are convertible into Class A ordinary shares on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment, as described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities.” |
| (3) | Our sponsor is the record holder of such shares. Genesis Park II, LP (“GPLP”) is the managing member of our sponsor, and Genesis Park II GP, LLC (“GPLLC”) is the general partner of GPLP, and as such, has voting and investment discretion with respect to the ordinary shares held of record by our sponsor and may be deemed to have shared beneficial ownership of the ordinary shares held directly by our sponsor. The managers of GPLLC are Paul Hobby, Peter Shaper and Steven Gibson, none of whom exercise voting or dispositive power with respect to the Class B ordinary shares alone or are deemed to have beneficial ownership. Each of our officers and directors hold a direct or indirect interest in our sponsor. Each such person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
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Immediately after this offering, our initial shareholders will beneficially own 20% of our then-issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering). If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders (and their permitted transferees, if any) at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon the consummation of this offering. Because of this ownership block, our initial shareholders may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including the appointment of directors, amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions, including approval of our initial business combination.
Certain of our directors have indicated an interest in purchasing an aggregate of 135,000 units in this offering at the public offering price, although they are not obligated to make any such purchases.
Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed (i) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (ii) not to redeem any shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination or in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity.
Genesis Park has expressed to us an intent to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 units in this offering at the public offering price (or 1,150,000 units in the event the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which amounts may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if fewer than 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are sold in this offering. We have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell to Genesis Park such number of units at the public offering price. In the event that Genesis Park purchases such units (either in this offering or after), it would hold, directly or indirectly, 24.0% of our outstanding ordinary shares (22.0% if the underwriters fully exercise their over-allotment option). If our sponsor votes them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that other public shareholders holding only 6,500,001 of the other public shares would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction, of which an aggregate of 135,000 shares may be held by certain of our directors who have indicated an interest in purchasing such number of units in this offering, although they are not obligated to do so. Any units purchased by Genesis Park (and their constituent Class A ordinary shares and warrants) will not be subject to the restrictions on transfer applicable to the founder shares and private placement warrants. As a result of the founder shares, private placement warrants and units that Genesis Park may hold (directly or indirectly), it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public shareholders.
Genesis Park will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units it purchases in this offering as the rights afforded to our public shareholders.
Our sponsor and our executive officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares, private placement warrants purchased by our sponsor and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in a letter agreement with us to be entered into by our sponsor, officers and directors. Those lock-up provisions provide that such securities are not transferable or salable (i) in the case of the founder shares, until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which
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we complete a liquidation, merger, 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, and (ii) in the case of the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants, until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except in each case (a) (1) in the case of private placement warrants held by our sponsor or any of its permitted transferees, to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, or any affiliates or members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor and (2) in the case of any private placement warrants (or any Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) held by Jefferies or any of its permitted transferees, to any affiliates or member of Jefferies, (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the members of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of one 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 applicable 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 any forward purchase agreement or similar arrangement or in connection with the consummation of an initial business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the shares or warrants were originally purchased; (f) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; or (g) by virtue of the laws of the Cayman Islands or the limited liability company agreement of our sponsor or Jefferies upon termination or dissolution of our sponsor; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) or (g) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement and by the same agreements entered into by our sponsor and Jefferies, as applicable, with respect to such securities (including provisions relating to voting, the trust account and liquidation distributions described elsewhere in this prospectus). Additionally, to the extent that the private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its designees or affiliates, they have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Additionally, the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by Jefferies may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of this prospectus except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriters and any such participating selected dealer. The private placement warrants (and the underlying securities) purchased by Jefferies will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of (i) the founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants, and (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants) and (iv) the units purchased by Genesis Park in this offering and the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising such units (including the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants in the units) will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion of such shares into Class A ordinary shares) pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. These holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us, subject to certain limitations. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
In addition, pursuant to such registration and shareholder rights agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by such registration and shareholder rights agreement.
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CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
In July 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (up to an aggregate of 750,000 shares of which are subject to surrender for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. The per share purchase price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount of cash contributed to the Company by the aggregate number of founder shares issued. If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders (and their permitted transferees, if any) at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon the consummation of this offering. The founder shares (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.
Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 5,500,000 (or 6,025,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.00 per warrant in a private placement that will occur simultaneously with the closing of this offering. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at between $5,500,000 and $6,025,000, depending on the number of private placement warrants purchased. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by our sponsor may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by such holders. The private placement warrants purchased by our sponsor will be non-redeemable so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees. The private placement warrants held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees may also be exercised by such holders for cash or on a cashless basis. Otherwise, such private placement warrants will have the terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
In addition, Jefferies, an underwriter for this offering, has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase 500,000 private placement warrants (or 575,000 private placement warrants in the event the underwriters exercise their overallotment option in full) for an aggregate purchase price of $500,000 (or $575,000 in the event the underwriters exercise their overallotment in full) or $1.00 per warrant, in the private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. The private placement warrants purchased by Jefferies will be identical to the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering except that they will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis for as long as such private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its permitted transferees. Additionally, for so long as such private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The private placement warrants purchased by Jefferies have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Additionally, the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by Jefferies may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of this prospectus except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriters and any such participating selected dealer. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise) purchased by Jefferies will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
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Our sponsor has agreed to provide to us office space and general administrative services until such time as we may enter into a lease for office space with an unaffiliated third party, in an amount not to exceed $15,000 per month, following consummation of this offering.
No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers and directors, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of an initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. We do not have a policy that prohibits our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, from negotiating for the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses by a target business. 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 out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Genesis Park has expressed to us an intent to purchase an aggregate of 1,000,000 units in this offering at the public offering price (or 1,150,000 units in the event the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which amounts may be reduced on a pro-rata basis if fewer than 20,000,000 units (or 23,000,000 in the event the over-allotment option is exercised in full) are sold in this offering. We have agreed to direct the underwriters to sell to Genesis Park such number of units at the public offering price. In the event that Genesis Park purchases such units (either in this offering or after) and votes them in favor of our initial business combination, it is possible that other public shareholders holding only 6,500,001 of the other public shares would be required to approve our initial business combination, depending on the number of shares that are present at the meeting to approve such transaction, of which an aggregate of 135,000 shares may be held by certain of our directors who have indicated an interest in purchasing such number of units in this offering, although they are not obligated to do so. Any units purchased by Genesis Park (and their constituent Class A ordinary shares and warrants) will not be subject to the restrictions on transfer applicable to the founder shares and private placement warrants. As a result of the founder shares, private placement warrants and units that Genesis Park may hold (directly or indirectly), it may have different interests with respect to a vote on an initial business combination than other public shareholders.
Genesis Park will have the same rights to the funds held in the trust account with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the units it purchases in this offering as the rights afforded to our public shareholders.
Prior to the closing of this offering, our sponsor has agreed to loan us up to an aggregate of $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of this offering. As of July 30, 2020, we had not borrowed any amounts under such promissory notes. These loans are non-interest bearing, unsecured and are due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of this offering. The loan will be repaid upon the closing of this offering out of the estimated $1,000,000 of offering proceeds that has been allocated to the payment of offering expenses (other than underwriting commissions) not held in the trust account. The value of our sponsor’s interest in this transaction corresponds to the principal amount outstanding under any such loan.
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to
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our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We will enter into a registration and shareholder rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any), the units purchased by Genesis Park and the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing warrants and upon conversion of the founder shares. Pursuant to such registration and shareholder rights agreement, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of our initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for election to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by such registration and shareholder rights agreement which is described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Registration and Shareholder Rights.”
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors will adopt a policy setting forth the policies and procedures for its review and approval or ratification of “related party transactions.” A “related party transaction” is any consummated or proposed transaction or series of transactions: (i) in which the company was or is to be a participant; (ii) the amount of which exceeds (or is reasonably expected to exceed) $120,000 in the aggregate over the duration of the transaction (without regard to profit or loss); and (iii) in which a “related party” had, has or will have a direct or indirect material interest. “Related parties” under this policy will include: (i) our directors, nominees for director or executive officers; (ii) any record or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities; (iii) any immediate family member of any of the foregoing if the foregoing person is a natural person; and (iv) any other person who maybe a “related person” pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act. Pursuant to the policy, the audit committee will consider (i) the relevant facts and circumstances of each related party transaction, including if the transaction is on terms comparable to those that could be obtained in arm’s-length dealings with an unrelated third party, (ii) the extent of the related party’s interest in the transaction, (iii) whether the transaction contravenes our code of ethics or other policies, (iv) whether the audit committee believes the relationship underlying the transaction to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders and (v) the effect that the transaction may have on a director’s status as an independent member of the board and on his or her eligibility to serve on the board’s committees. Management will present to the audit committee each proposed related party transaction, including all relevant facts and circumstances relating thereto. Under the policy, we may consummate related party transactions only if our audit committee approves or ratifies the transaction in accordance with the guidelines set forth in the policy. The policy will not permit any director or executive officer to participate in the discussion of, or decision concerning, a related party transaction in which he or she is the related party.
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Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, our authorized share capital consists of 230,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value, and 2,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes certain terms of our share capital as set out more particularly in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Units
Each unit has an offering price of $10.00 and consists of one share of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this prospectus. Only whole warrants are exercisable. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade.
We expect the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units will begin separate trading on the 52nd day following the date of this prospectus unless Jefferies LLC informs us of its decision to allow earlier separate trading, subject to our having filed the Current Report on Form 8-K described below and having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants commence separate trading, holders will have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
In no event will the Class A ordinary shares and warrants be traded separately until we have filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC, which includes an audited balance sheet reflecting our receipt of the gross proceeds at the closing of this offering. We will file a Current Report on Form 8-K which includes this audited balance sheet upon the completion of this offering, which closing is anticipated to take place three business days after the date of this prospectus. If the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option following the initial filing of such Current Report on Form 8-K, a second or amended Current Report on Form 8-K will be filed to provide updated financial information to reflect the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option.
Ordinary Shares
Upon the closing of this offering, 25,000,000 of our ordinary shares will be outstanding (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option and the corresponding surrender of 750,000 founder shares by our sponsor), consisting of:
| ∎ | 20,000,000 Class A ordinary shares underlying the units being offered in this offering; and |
| ∎ | 5,000,000 Class B ordinary shares held by our initial shareholders. |
If we increase or decrease the size of the offering, we will effect a share capitalization or a share surrender or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders (and their permitted transferees, if any) at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares (excluding the ordinary shares underlying the private placement warrants) upon the consummation of this offering.
Ordinary shareholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by shareholders. Except as described below, holders of Class A ordinary shares and holders of Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders except as required by law. Unless specified in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, or as required by applicable provisions of the Companies Law or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our ordinary shares that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our shareholders. Approval of certain actions will require a special resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares that are voted, and pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; such actions include amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and
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approving a statutory merger or consolidation with another company. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for terms of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the appointment of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the appointment of directors can appoint all of the directors. Our shareholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor. 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 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. 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 holders representing at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting.
Because our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorizes the issuance of up to 230,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, if we were to enter into an initial business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such an initial business combination) be required to increase the number of Class A ordinary shares which we are authorized to issue at the same time as our shareholders vote on the initial business combination to the extent we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
In accordance with NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until no later than one year after our first full fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. As an exempted company, 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.
We will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) without a shareholder vote by means of a tender offer. 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 who vote at a general meeting. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. If we conduct redemptions by means of a tender offer, the tender offer documents will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules.
If we seek shareholder approval, the participation of our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their affiliates in privately negotiated transactions (as described in this prospectus), if any, could result in the approval of our initial business combination even if a majority of our public shareholders vote, or indicate their intention to vote, against such business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares voted, abstentions and non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. We intend to give approximately 30 days’ (but not less than 10 days’ nor more than 60 days’)
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prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial shareholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will 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 ordinary shares sold in this offering, which we refer to as the Excess Shares. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our shareholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such shareholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such shareholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete the initial business combination. And, as a result, such shareholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
If we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, pursuant to a letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
As a result, in addition to our initial shareholders’ founder shares, we would need only 7,500,001, or 37.5% (or 7,365,001, or 36.8%, if certain of our directors purchase an aggregate of 135,000 units in this offering, of the 20,000,000 public shares sold in this offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved (assuming all outstanding shares are voted and the over-allotment option is not exercised), of which Genesis Park may hold 1,000,000 shares. Additionally, each public shareholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or whether they were a shareholder on the record date for the general meeting held to approve the proposed transaction (subject to the limitation described in the preceding paragraph).
Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, we 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 subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining 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 sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter 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 held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering. However, if our initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after this offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company after an initial business combination, our shareholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the ordinary shares. Our shareholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the ordinary shares, except that we will provide our shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest
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(which will be net of taxes paid by us) upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Founder Shares
The founder shares are identical to the Class A ordinary shares included in the units being sold in this offering, and holders of founder shares have the same shareholder rights as public shareholders, except that (i) the founder shares are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed (A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (B) to waive their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares and public shares in connection with a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (x) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (y) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (C) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within such time period, (iii) the founder shares are Class B ordinary shares that will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights as described herein and (iv) the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of founder shares are entitled to registration rights. If we submit our initial business combination to our public shareholders for a vote, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed (and its permitted transferees will agree) pursuant to the letter agreement to vote any founder shares held by them and any public shares purchased during or after this offering (including in open market and privately-negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination.
In the case that additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities are issued or deemed issued in connection with our initial business combination, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all ordinary shares outstanding upon the completion of this offering, plus the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued, or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial business combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities exercisable for or convertible into Class A ordinary shares issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial business combination and any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to our sponsor, officers or directors upon conversion of working capital loans; provided that such conversion of founder shares will never occur on a less than one for one basis. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B ordinary shares at the time of any future issuance would agree to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions that are part of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A ordinary shareholders on structuring an initial business combination; or (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing that would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of the Class B ordinary shares. If such adjustment is not waived, the issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B ordinary shares, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. If such adjustment is waived, the issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classes of our ordinary shares. The term “equity-linked securities” refers to any debt or equity securities that are convertible, exercisable or exchangeable for Class A ordinary shares issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt. Securities could be “deemed issued” for purposes of the conversion rate adjustment if such shares are issuable upon the conversion or exercise of convertible securities, warrants or similar securities.
With certain limited exceptions, the founder shares are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or
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(B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date, following the completion of our initial business combination, on which we complete a liquidation, merger, 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.
Register of Members
Under the Companies Law, we must keep a register of members (shareholders) and there will be entered therein:
| ∎ | the names and addresses of the members of the company, a statement of the shares held by each member, which: |
| ∎ | distinguishes each share by its number (so long as the share has a number); |
| ∎ | confirms the amount paid, or agreed to be considered as paid, on the shares of each member; |
| ∎ | confirms the number and category of shares held by each member; and |
| ∎ | confirms whether each relevant category of shares held by a member carries voting rights under the Articles, and if so, whether such voting rights are conditional; |
| ∎ | the date on which the name of any person was entered on the register as a member; and |
| ∎ | the date on which any person ceased to be a member. |
For these purposes, “voting rights” means rights conferred on shareholders, including the right to appoint or remove directors, in respect of their shares to vote at general meetings of the company on all or substantially all matters. A voting right is conditional where the voting right arises only in certain circumstances.
Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members of our company is prima facie evidence of the matters set out therein (i.e. the register of members will raise a presumption of fact on the matters referred to above unless rebutted) and a member registered in the register of members will be deemed as a matter of Cayman Islands law to have legal title to the shares as set against its name in the register of members. Upon the closing of this public offering, the register of members will be immediately updated to reflect the issue of shares by us. Once our register of members has been updated, the shareholders recorded in the register of members will be deemed to have legal title to the shares set against their name. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. If an application for an order for rectification of the register of members were made in respect of our ordinary shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court.
Preference Shares
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize 2,000,000 preference shares and will provide that preference shares may be issued from time to time in one or more series. Our board of directors will be authorized to fix the voting rights, if any, designations, powers, preferences, the relative, participating, optional or other special rights and any qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, applicable to the shares of each series. Our board of directors will be able to, without shareholder approval, issue preference shares with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of the ordinary shares and could have anti-takeover effects. The ability of our board of directors to issue preference shares without shareholder approval could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control of us or the removal of existing management. We have no preference shares issued and outstanding at the date hereof. Although we do not currently intend to issue any preference shares, we cannot assure you that we will not do so in the future. No preference shares are being issued or registered in this offering.
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Redeemable Warrants
Public Shareholders’ Warrants
Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing on the later of 12 months from the closing of this offering and 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrantholder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrantholder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and will have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration. No warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of a warrant unless Class A ordinary shares issuable upon such warrant exercise have been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant, if not cash settled, will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We are not registering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants at this time. However, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement registering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, to cause such registration statement to become effective and to maintain a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination or within a specified period following the consummation of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when we shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a “cashless basis” pursuant to the exemption provided by Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act; provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will not be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis.
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption:
| ∎ | in whole and not in part; |
| ∎ | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| ∎ | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption (the “30-day redemption period”) to each warrantholder; and |
| ∎ | if, and only if, the reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrantholders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such ordinary shares under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were initially offered by us in this offering.
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We have established the last of the redemption criteria discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrantholder will be entitled to exercise its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. However, the price of the Class A ordinary shares may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like), as well as the $11.50 warrant exercise price, after the redemption notice is issued.
If we call the warrants for redemption as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a cashless basis. In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our shareholders of issuing the maximum number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants multiplied by and the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of Class A ordinary shares to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our sponsor and its permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrantholders would have been required to use had all warrantholders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
A holder of a warrant may notify us in writing in the event it elects to be subject to a requirement that such holder will not have the right to exercise such warrant, to the extent that after giving effect to such exercise, such person (together with such person’s affiliates), to the warrant agent’s actual knowledge, would beneficially own in excess of 4.9% or 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is increased by a capitalization or share dividend payable in Class A ordinary shares, or by a split-up of ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such capitalization or share dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding Class A ordinary shares. A rights offering to holders of Class A ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the fair market value will be deemed a share dividend of a number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the product of (i) the number of Class A ordinary shares actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per Class A ordinary share paid in such rights offering divided by (y) the fair market value. For these purposes (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for Class A ordinary shares, in determining the price payable for Class A ordinary shares, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) fair market value means the volume weighted average price of Class A ordinary shares as reported during the 10 trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the Class A ordinary shares trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other shares into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) certain ordinary cash dividends, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in
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connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to (i) modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide for the redemption of our public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each Class A ordinary share in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding Class A ordinary shares is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division or reclassification of Class A ordinary shares or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse share sub-division, reclassification or similar event, the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding Class A ordinary shares.
Whenever the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment, and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of Class A ordinary shares so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the Class A ordinary shares immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event. If less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A ordinary shares in such a transaction is payable in the form of Class A ordinary shares in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within 30 days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The purpose of such exercise price reduction is to provide additional value to holders of the warrants when an extraordinary transaction occurs during the exercise period of the warrants pursuant to which the holders of the warrants otherwise do not receive the full potential value of the warrants. This formula is to compensate the warrant holder for the loss of the option value portion of the warrant due to the requirement that the warrant holder exercise the warrant within 30 days of the event. The Black-Scholes model is an accepted pricing model for estimating fair market value where no quoted market price for an instrument is available.
The warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, and that all other modifications or amendments will require the vote or written consent of the holders of at least a majority of the
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then outstanding public warrants and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants, a majority of the then outstanding private placement warrants.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrantholders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of Class A ordinary shares or any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A ordinary shares. After the issuance of Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of the warrants, each holder will be entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters to be voted on by shareholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrantholder. As a result, warrantholders not purchasing an even number of warrants must sell any odd number of warrants in order to obtain full value from the fractional interests that will not be issued.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per Class A ordinary share (with such issue price or effective issue price to be determined in good faith by our board of directors and, in the case of any such issuance to our sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any founder shares held by our sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
Private Placement Warrants
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants,” to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees) and they will not be redeemable by us so long as they are held by our sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees. Except as described below, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. If the private placement warrants are held by holders other than our sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us and exercisable by the holders on the same basis as the warrants included in the units being sold in this offering.
If holders of the private placement warrants elect to exercise them on a cashless basis, they would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants for that number of Class A ordinary shares equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” (defined below) over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” means the average reported closing price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of warrant exercise is sent to the warrant agent. The reason that we have agreed that these warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the sponsor, Jefferies or their respective permitted transferees is because, in the case of our sponsor and its permitted transferees, it is not known at this time whether they will be affiliated with us following an initial business combination and, in the case of Jefferies and its permitted transferees, our sponsor and Jefferies agreed that the private place warrants purchased by Jefferies would have the same terms as the private placement warrants purchased by our sponsor. If our sponsor or any of its permitted transferees remain affiliated with us, their ability to
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sell our securities in the open market will be significantly limited. We expect to have policies in place that prohibit insiders from selling our securities except during specific periods of time. Even during such periods of time when insiders will be permitted to sell our securities, an insider cannot trade in our securities if he or she is in possession of material non-public information. Accordingly, unlike public shareholders who could exercise their warrants sell the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants freely in the open market, the insiders could be significantly restricted from doing so. As a result, we believe that allowing the holders to exercise such warrants on a cashless basis is appropriate.
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such working capital loans by our sponsor or their affiliates, or our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans.
Our sponsor has agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of any of these warrants) until the date that is 30 days after the date we complete our initial business combination, except that, among other limited exceptions as described under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants” made to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our sponsor.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of an initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of an initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to an initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we increase or decrease the size of this offering we will effect a share dividend or a share contribution back to capital or other appropriate mechanism, as applicable, with respect to our Class B ordinary shares immediately prior to the consummation of the offering in such amount as to maintain the ownership of our initial shareholders at 20% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of this offering. Further, if we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Transfer Agent and Warrant Agent
The transfer agent for our ordinary shares and warrant agent for our warrants is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. We have agreed to indemnify Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company in its roles as transfer agent and warrant agent, its agents and each of its shareholders, directors, officers and employees against all claims and losses that may arise out of acts performed or omitted for its activities in that capacity, except for any liability due to any gross negligence, willful misconduct or bad faith of the indemnified person or entity.
Certain Differences in Corporate Law
Cayman Islands companies are governed by the Companies Law. The Companies Law is modeled on English Law but does not follow recent English Law statutory enactments, and differs from laws applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of the material differences between the provisions of the Companies Law applicable to us and the laws applicable to companies incorporated in the United States and their shareholders.
Mergers and Similar Arrangements. In certain circumstances, the Companies Law allows for mergers or consolidations between two Cayman Islands companies, or between a Cayman Islands exempted company and a company incorporated in another jurisdiction (provided that is facilitated by the laws of that other jurisdiction).
Where the merger or consolidation is between two Cayman Islands companies, the directors of each company must approve a written plan of merger or consolidation containing certain prescribed information. That plan or merger or
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consolidation must then be authorized by either (a) a special resolution (at least a majority of 66 2/3% of the voting shares voted at a general meeting) of the shareholders of each company; and (b) such other authorization, if any, as may be specified in such constituent company’s articles of association. No shareholder resolution is required for a merger between a parent company (i.e., a company that owns at least 90% of the issued shares of each class in a subsidiary company) and its subsidiary company. The consent of each holder of a fixed or floating security interest of a constituent company must be obtained, unless the court waives such requirement. If the Cayman Islands Registrar of Companies is satisfied that the requirements of the Companies Law (which includes certain other formalities) have been complied with, the Registrar of Companies will register the plan of merger or consolidation.
Where the merger or consolidation involves a foreign company, the procedure is similar, save that with respect to the foreign company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the merger or consolidation is permitted or not prohibited by the constitutional documents of the foreign company and by the laws of the jurisdiction in which the foreign company is incorporated, and that those laws and any requirements of those constitutional documents have been or will be complied with; (ii) that no petition or other similar proceeding has been filed and remains outstanding or order made or resolution adopted to wind up or liquidate the foreign company in any jurisdictions; (iii) that no receiver, trustee, administrator or other similar person has been appointed in any jurisdiction and is acting in respect of the foreign company, its affairs or its property or any part thereof; (iv) that no scheme, order, compromise or other similar arrangement has been entered into or made in any jurisdiction whereby the rights of creditors of the foreign company are and continue to be suspended or restricted; and (v) that there is no other reason why it would be against the public interest to permit the merger or consolidation.
Where the surviving company is the Cayman Islands exempted company, the directors of the Cayman Islands exempted company are further required to make a declaration to the effect that, having made due enquiry, they are of the opinion that the requirements set out below have been met: (i) that the foreign company is able to pay its debts as they fall due and that the merger or consolidated is bona fide and not intended to defraud unsecured creditors of the foreign company; (ii) that in respect of the transfer of any security interest granted by the foreign company to the surviving or consolidated company (a) consent or approval to the transfer has been obtained, released or waived; (b) the transfer is permitted by and has been approved in accordance with the constitutional documents of the foreign company; and (c) the laws of the jurisdiction of the foreign company with respect to the transfer have been or will be complied with; and (iii) that the foreign company will, upon the merger or consolidation becoming effective, cease to be incorporated, registered or exist under the laws of the relevant foreign jurisdiction.
The Companies Law provides for a right of dissenting shareholders to be paid a payment of the fair value of his shares upon their dissenting to the merger or consolidation in certain circumstances if they follow a prescribed procedure. In essence, where such rights apply, that procedure is as follows: (a) the shareholder must give his written objection to the merger or consolidation to the constituent company before the vote on the merger or consolidation, including a statement that the shareholder proposes to demand payment for his shares if the merger or consolidation is authorized by the vote; (b) within 20 days following the date on which the merger or consolidation is approved by the shareholders, the constituent company must give written notice to each shareholder who made a written objection; (c) a shareholder must within 20 days following receipt of such notice from the constituent company, give the constituent company a written notice of his intention to dissent including, among other details, a demand for payment of the fair value of his shares; (d) within seven days following the date of the expiration of the period set out in paragraph (b) above or seven days following the date on which the plan of merger or consolidation is filed, whichever is later, the constituent company, the surviving company or the consolidated company must make a written offer to each dissenting shareholder to purchase his shares at a price that the company determines is the fair value and if the company and the shareholder agree the price within 30 days following the date on which the offer was made, the company must pay the shareholder such amount; and (e) if the company and the shareholder fail to agree a price within such 30 day period, within 20 days following the date on which such 30 day period expires, the company (and any dissenting shareholder) must file a petition with the Cayman Islands Grand Court to determine the fair value and such petition must be accompanied by a list of the names and addresses of the dissenting shareholders with whom agreements as to the fair value of their shares have not been reached by the company. At the hearing of that petition, the court has the power to determine the fair value of the shares together with a fair rate
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of interest, if any, to be paid by the company upon the amount determined to be the fair value. Any dissenting shareholder whose name appears on the list filed by the company may participate fully in all proceedings until the determination of fair value is reached. These rights of a dissenting shareholder are not available in certain circumstances, for example, to dissenters holding shares of any class in respect of which an open market exists on a recognized stock exchange or recognized interdealer quotation system at the relevant date, where the consideration for such shares to be contributed are shares of any company listed on a national securities exchange or shares of the surviving or consolidated company or in the context of a parents and subsidiary merger.
Moreover, Cayman Islands law has separate statutory provisions that facilitate the reconstruction or amalgamation of companies in certain circumstances, schemes of arrangement will generally be more suited for complex mergers or other transactions involving widely held companies, commonly referred to in the Cayman Islands as a “scheme of arrangement” which may be tantamount to a merger. In the event that a merger was sought pursuant to a scheme of arrangement (the procedures for which are more rigorous and take longer to complete than the procedures typically required to consummate a merger in the United States), the arrangement in question must be approved by a majority in number of each class of shareholders and creditors with whom the arrangement is to be made and who must in addition represent three-fourths in value of each such class of shareholders or creditors, as the case may be, that are present and voting either in person or by proxy at a meeting, or meeting summoned for that purpose. The convening of the meetings and subsequently the terms of the arrangement must be sanctioned by the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. While a dissenting shareholder would have the right to express to the court the view that the transaction should not be approved, the court can be expected to approve the arrangement if it satisfies itself that:
| ∎ | we are not proposing to act illegally or beyond the scope of our corporate authority and the statutory provisions as to majority vote have been complied with; |
| ∎ | the shareholders have been fairly represented at the meeting in question; |
| ∎ | the arrangement is such as a businessman would reasonably consider; and |
| ∎ | the arrangement is not one that would more properly be sanctioned under some other provision of the Companies Law or that would amount to a “fraud on the minority.” |
If a scheme of arrangement or takeover offer (as described below) is approved, any dissenting shareholder would have no rights comparable to appraisal rights (providing rights to receive payment in cash for the judicially determined value of the shares), which would otherwise ordinarily be available to dissenting shareholders of United States corporations.
Squeeze-out Provisions. When a takeover offer is made and accepted by holders of 90% of the shares to whom the offer is made within four months, the offeror may, within a two-month period, require the holders of the remaining shares to transfer such shares on the terms of the offer. An objection can be made to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, but this is unlikely to succeed unless there is evidence of fraud, bad faith, collusion or inequitable treatment of the shareholders.
Further, transactions similar to a merger, reconstruction and/or an amalgamation may in some circumstances be achieved through means other than these statutory provisions, such as a share capital exchange, asset acquisition or control, or through contractual arrangements of an operating business.
Shareholders’ Suits. Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, is not aware of any reported class action having been brought in a Cayman Islands court. Derivative actions have been brought in the Cayman Islands courts, and the Cayman Islands courts have confirmed the availability for such actions. In most cases, we will be the proper plaintiff in any claim based on a breach of duty owed to us, and a claim against (for example) our officers or directors usually may not be brought by a shareholder. However, based both on Cayman Islands authorities and on English authorities, which would in all likelihood be of persuasive authority and be applied by a court in the Cayman Islands, exceptions to the foregoing principle apply in circumstances in which:
| ∎ | a company is acting, or proposing to act, illegally or beyond the scope of its authority; |
| ∎ | the act complained of, although not beyond the scope of the authority, could be effected if duly authorized by more than the number of votes which have actually been obtained; or |
| ∎ | those who control the company are perpetrating a “fraud on the minority.” |
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A shareholder may have a direct right of action against us where the individual rights of that shareholder have been infringed or are about to be infringed.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities. The Cayman Islands has a different body of securities laws as compared to the United States and provides less protection to investors. Additionally, Cayman Islands companies may not have standing to sue before the Federal courts of the United States.
We have been advised by 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, and or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
Special Considerations for Exempted Companies. We are an exempted company with limited liability (meaning our public shareholders have no liability, as members of the company, for liabilities of the company over and above the amount unpaid on their shares) under the Companies Law. The Companies Law distinguishes between ordinary resident companies and exempted companies. Any company that is registered in the Cayman Islands but conducts business mainly outside of the Cayman Islands may apply to be registered as an exempted company. The requirements for an exempted company are essentially the same as for an ordinary company except for the exemptions and privileges listed below:
| ∎ | annual reporting requirements are minimal and consist mainly of a statement that the company has conducted its operations mainly outside of the Cayman Islands and has complied with the provisions of the Companies Law; |
| ∎ | an exempted company’s register of members is not open to inspection; |
| ∎ | an exempted company does not have to hold an annual general meeting; |
| ∎ | an exempted company may issue negotiable or bearer shares or shares with no par value; |
| ∎ | an exempted company may obtain an undertaking against the imposition of any future taxation (such undertakings are usually given for 30 years in the first instance); |
| ∎ | an exempted company may register by way of continuation in another jurisdiction and be deregistered in the Cayman Islands; |
| ∎ | an exempted company may register as a limited duration company; and |
| ∎ | an exempted company may register as a segregated portfolio company. |
Our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will contain certain requirements and restrictions relating to this offering that will apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to the appointment of directors, which require the approval of a majority of holders of at least 90% of our ordinary shares voting at a general meeting) cannot be amended without a special resolution. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a resolution is deemed to be a special resolution where it has been approved by either (i) at least two-thirds (or any higher threshold specified in a company’s articles of association) of a company’s shareholders at a general meeting for which notice specifying the intention to propose
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the resolution as a special resolution has been given; or (ii) if so authorized by a company’s articles of association, by a unanimous written resolution of all of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that special resolutions must be approved either by at least two-thirds of our shareholders (i.e., the lowest threshold permissible under Cayman Islands law), or by a unanimous written resolution of all of our shareholders.
Our initial shareholders, who will collectively beneficially own 20% of our ordinary shares upon the closing of this offering (assuming they do not purchase any units in this offering), will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide, among other things, that:
| ∎ | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this 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 subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of 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 and franchise taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, 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; |
| ∎ | Prior to 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; |
| ∎ | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
| ∎ | If a shareholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; |
| ∎ | The NYSE rules require that our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in trust (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting discount held in trust) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
| ∎ | If our shareholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that would affect the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months (or 27 months, as applicable) from the closing of this offering, we will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income and franchise taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares; and |
| ∎ | We will not effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
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In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions.
The Companies Law permits a company incorporated in the Cayman Islands to amend its memorandum and articles of association with the approval of a special resolution. A company’s articles of association may specify that the approval of a higher majority is required. Accordingly, although we could amend any of the provisions relating to our proposed offering, structure and business plan which are contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we view all of these provisions as binding obligations to our shareholders and neither we, nor our officers or directors, will take any action to amend or waive any of these provisions unless we provide dissenting public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of our Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual general meetings.
Our authorized but unissued ordinary shares and preference shares are available for future issuances without shareholder approval and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved ordinary shares and preference shares could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Extraordinary General Meetings
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that extraordinary general meetings may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.
Advance Notice Requirements for Shareholder Proposals and Director Nominations
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that shareholders seeking to bring business before our annual general meeting, or to nominate candidates for appointment as directors at our annual general meeting must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a shareholder’s notice will need to be received by our company secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual general meeting. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a shareholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our shareholders from bringing matters before our annual general meeting or from making nominations for directors at our annual general meeting. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association allow the chairman of the meeting at a meeting of the shareholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. These provisions may also defer, delay or discourage a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to influence or obtain control of us.
Unanimous Written Resolutions
Subsequent to the consummation of the offering, any action required or permitted to be taken by our ordinary shareholders must be effected by a duly called annual general meeting or extraordinary general meeting and may not be effected by unanimous written resolution of the shareholders other than with respect to our Class B ordinary shares.
Classified Board of Directors
Our board of directors will initially be divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association will provide that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Subject to the terms of any preference shares, any or all of the directors may be removed from office at any time, but only for
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cause and only by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the voting power of all then issued and outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in the appointment of directors, voting together as a single class. Any vacancy on our board of directors, including a vacancy resulting from an enlargement of our board of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of our directors then in office.
Class B Ordinary Shares Consent Right
For so long as any Class B ordinary shares remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the Class B ordinary shares then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision of our memorandum and articles of association, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B ordinary shares. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of Class B ordinary shares may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B ordinary shares having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all Class B ordinary shares were present and voted.
Securities Eligible for Future Sale
Immediately after the consummation of this offering (assuming no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) we will have 25,000,000 (or 28,750,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) ordinary shares outstanding. Of these shares, the 20,000,000 shares (or 23,000,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) sold in this offering will be freely tradable without restriction or further registration under the Securities Act, except for any shares purchased by one of our affiliates within the meaning of Rule 144 under the Securities Act. All of the remaining 5,000,000 (or 5,750,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) shares and all 6,000,000 (or 6,600,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) private placement warrants are restricted securities under Rule 144, in that they were issued in private transactions not involving a public offering, and the Class B ordinary shares and private placement warrants are subject to transfer restrictions as set forth elsewhere in this prospectus. These restricted securities will be entitled to registration rights as more fully described below under “—Registration Rights.”
Rule 144
Pursuant to Rule 144, a person who has beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months would be entitled to sell their securities; provided that (i) such person is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and (ii) we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months before the sale and have filed all required reports under Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the 12 months (or such shorter period as we were required to file reports) preceding the sale.
Persons who have beneficially owned restricted ordinary shares or warrants for at least six months but who are our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only a number of securities that does not exceed the greater of:
| ∎ | 1% of the total number of Class A ordinary shares then outstanding, which will equal 200,000 shares immediately after this offering (or 230,000 if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full); or |
| ∎ | the average weekly reported trading volume of the Class A ordinary shares during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Sales by our affiliates under Rule 144 are also limited by manner of sale provisions and notice requirements and to the availability of current public information about us.
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Restrictions on the Use of Rule 144 by Shell Companies or Former Shell Companies
Rule 144 is not available for the resale of securities initially issued by shell companies (other than business combination related shell companies) or issuers that have been at any time previously a shell company. However, Rule 144 also includes an important exception to this prohibition if the following conditions are met:
| ∎ | the issuer of the securities that was formerly a shell company has ceased to be a shell company; |
| ∎ | the issuer of the securities is subject to the reporting requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act; |
| ∎ | the issuer of the securities has filed all Exchange Act reports and materials required to be filed, as applicable, during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports and materials), other than Current Reports on Form 8-K; and |
| ∎ | at least one year has elapsed from the time that the issuer filed current Form 10 type information with the SEC reflecting its status as an entity that is not a shell company. |
As a result, our initial shareholders will be able to sell their founder shares and private placement warrants, as applicable, pursuant to Rule 144 without registration one year after we have completed our initial business combination.
Registration and Shareholder Rights
The holders of (i) the founder shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of this offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of this offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants, (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants) and (iv) the units purchased by Genesis Park in this offering and the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising such units (including the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants in the units) will have registration rights to require us to register a sale of any of our securities held by them (in the case of the founder shares, only after conversion of such shares into Class A ordinary shares) pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of this offering. These holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that we register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us, subject to certain limitations. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
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 election to our board of directors, as long as the sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Listing of Securities
We have applied to list our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants on the NYSE under the symbols “GNPK.U,” “GNPK” and “GNPK WS,” respectively. We expect that our units will be listed on the NYSE on or promptly after the effective date of the registration statement. Following the date the Class A ordinary shares and warrants are eligible to trade separately, we anticipate that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed separately and as a unit on the NYSE. We cannot guarantee that our securities will be approved for listing on the NYSE.
Anti-Money Laundering—Cayman Islands
In order to comply with legislation or regulations aimed at the prevention of money laundering, we are required to adopt and maintain anti-money laundering procedures, and may require subscribers to provide evidence to verify their identity, the identity of their beneficial owners/controllers and source of funds. Where permitted, and subject to certain conditions, we may also delegate the maintenance of our anti-money laundering procedures (including the acquisition of due diligence information) to a suitable person.
We reserve the right to request such information as is necessary to verify the identity of a subscriber. In some cases the directors may be satisfied that no further information is required since an exemption applies under the Anti-
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Money Laundering Regulations (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, as amended and revised from time to time (the “Regulations”). Depending on the circumstances of each application, a detailed verification of identity might not be required where:
| (a) | the subscriber is a relevant financial business required to comply with the Regulations or is a majority-owned subsidiary of such a business; or |
| (b) | the subscriber is acting in the course of a business in relation to which a regulatory authority exercises regulatory functions and which is in a country listed by the Cayman Islands Anti-Money Laundering Steering Committee (“Equivalent Jurisdiction”) or is a majority-owned subsidiary of such subscriber; or |
| (c) | the subscriber is a central or local government organization, statutory body or agency of government in the Cayman Islands or an Equivalent Jurisdiction; or |
| (d) | the subscriber is a company that is listed on a recognized stock exchange and subject to disclosure requirements which impose requirements to ensure adequate transparency of beneficial ownership, or is a majority-owned subsidiary of such a company; or |
| (e) | the subscriber is a pension fund for a professional association, trade union or is acting on behalf of employees of an entity referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) – (d); or |
| (f) | the application is made through an intermediary which falls within one of sub-paragraphs (a) – (e). In this situation the company may rely on a written assurance from the intermediary which confirms (i) that the requisite identification and verification procedures on the applicant for business and its beneficial owners have been carried out; (ii) the nature and intended purpose of the business relationship; (iii) that the intermediary has identified the source of funds of the applicant for business; and (iv) that the intermediary shall make available copies of any identification and verification data or information and relevant documents. |
For the purposes of these exceptions, recognition of a financial institution, regulatory authority or jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with the Regulations by reference to those jurisdictions recognized by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority as having equivalent anti-money laundering regulations.
In the event of delay or failure on the part of the subscriber in producing any information required for verification purposes, we may refuse to accept the application, in which case any funds received will be returned without interest to the account from which they were originally debited.
We also reserve the right to refuse to make any payment to a shareholder if our directors or officers suspect or are advised that the payment to such shareholder might result in a breach of applicable anti-money laundering or other laws or regulations by any person in any relevant jurisdiction, or if such refusal is considered necessary or appropriate to ensure our compliance with any such laws or regulations in any applicable jurisdiction.
If any person resident in the Cayman Islands knows or suspects, or has reasonable grounds for knowing or suspecting, that another person is engaged in criminal conduct or is involved with terrorism or terrorist property and the information for that knowledge or suspicion came to their attention in the course of business in the regulated sector or other trade, profession, business or employment, the person will be required to report such knowledge or suspicion to (i) the Financial Reporting Authority of the Cayman Islands, pursuant to the Proceeds of Crime Law (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands if the disclosure relates to criminal conduct or money laundering or (ii) a police officer of the rank of constable or higher, or the Financial Reporting Authority, pursuant to the Terrorism Law (2018 Revision) of the Cayman Islands, if the disclosure relates to involvement with terrorism or terrorist financing and property. Such a report will not be treated as a breach of confidence or of any restriction upon the disclosure of information imposed by any enactment or otherwise.
Data Protection—Cayman Islands
We have certain duties under the Data Protection Law, 2017 of the Cayman Islands (the “DPL”) based on internationally accepted principles of data privacy.
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Privacy Notice
Introduction
This privacy notice puts our shareholders on notice that through your investment in the Company you will provide us with certain personal information which constitutes personal data within the meaning of the DPL (“personal data”). In the following discussion, the “company” refers to us and our affiliates and/or delegates, except where the context requires otherwise.
Investor Data
We will collect, use, disclose, retain and secure personal data to the extent reasonably required only and within the parameters that could be reasonably expected during the normal course of business. We will only process, disclose, transfer or retain personal data to the extent legitimately required to conduct our activities of on an ongoing basis or to comply with legal and regulatory obligations to which we are subject. We will only transfer personal data in accordance with the requirements of the DPL, and will apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of the personal data and against the accidental loss, destruction or damage to the personal data.
In our use of this personal data, we will be characterized as a “data controller” for the purposes of the DPL, while our affiliates and service providers who may receive this personal data from us in the conduct of our activities may either act as our “data processors” for the purposes of the DPL or may process personal information for their own lawful purposes in connection with services provided to us.
We may also obtain personal data from other public sources. Personal data includes, without limitation, the following information relating to a shareholder and/or any individuals connected with a shareholder as an investor: name, residential address, email address, contact details, corporate contact information, signature, nationality, place of birth, date of birth, tax identification, credit history, correspondence records, passport number, bank account details, source of funds details and details relating to the shareholder’s investment activity.
Who this Affects
If you are a natural person, this will affect you directly. If you are a corporate investor (including, for these purposes, legal arrangements such as trusts or exempted limited partnerships) that provides us with personal data on individuals connected to you for any reason in relation your investment in the company, this will be relevant for those individuals and you should transmit the content of this Privacy Notice to such individuals or otherwise advise them of its content.
How the Company May Use a Shareholder’s Personal Data
As the data controller, we may collect, store and use personal data for lawful purposes, including, in particular:
| ∎ | where this is necessary for the performance of our rights and obligations under any purchase agreements; |
| ∎ | where this is necessary for compliance with a legal and regulatory obligation to which we are subject (such as compliance with anti-money laundering and FATCA/CRS requirements); and/or |
| ∎ | where this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and such interests are not overridden by your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms. |
Should we wish to use personal data for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you.
Why We May Transfer Your Personal Data
In certain circumstances we may be legally obliged to share personal data and other information with respect to your shareholding with the relevant regulatory authorities such as the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority or the Tax Information Authority. They, in turn, may exchange this information with foreign authorities, including tax authorities.
We anticipate disclosing personal data to persons who provide services to us and their respective affiliates (which may include certain entities located outside the United States, the Cayman Islands or the European Economic Area), who will process your personal data on our behalf.
The Data Protection Measures We Take
Any transfer of personal data by us or our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates outside of the Cayman Islands shall be in accordance with the requirements of the DPL.
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We and our duly authorized affiliates and/or delegates shall apply appropriate technical and organizational information security measures designed to protect against unauthorized or unlawful processing of personal data, and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data.
We shall notify you of any personal data breach that is reasonably likely to result in a risk to your interests, fundamental rights or freedoms or those data subjects to whom the relevant personal data relates.
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The following summary of certain Cayman Islands and U.S. federal income tax considerations of an investment in our units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant, which we refer to collectively as our securities, is based upon laws and relevant interpretations thereof in effect as of the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change. This summary does not deal with all possible tax consequences relating to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants, such as the tax consequences under state, local and other tax laws.
Prospective investors should consult their advisors on the possible tax consequences of investing in our securities under the laws of their country of citizenship, residence or domicile.
Cayman Islands Tax Considerations
The following is a discussion on certain Cayman Islands income tax consequences of an investment in the securities of the Company. The discussion is a general summary of present law, which is subject to prospective and retroactive change. It is not intended as tax advice, does not consider any investor’s particular circumstances, and does not consider tax consequences other than those arising under Cayman Islands law.
Under Existing Cayman Islands Laws
Payments of dividends and capital in respect of our securities will not be subject to taxation in the Cayman Islands and no withholding will be required on the payment of a dividend or capital to any holder of the securities nor will gains derived from the disposal of the securities be subject to Cayman Islands income or corporate tax. The Cayman Islands currently has no income, corporation or capital gains tax and no estate duty, inheritance tax or gift tax.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of the warrants. An instrument of transfer in respect of a warrant is stampable if executed in or brought into the Cayman Islands.
No stamp duty is payable in respect of the issue of our Class A ordinary shares or on an instrument of transfer in respect of such shares.
The Company has been incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company with limited liability and, as such, has applied for and received an undertaking from the Financial Secretary of the Cayman Islands in the following form:
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THE TAX CONCESSIONS LAW (2018 Revision) UNDERTAKING AS TO TAX CONCESSIONS
In accordance with the provision of Section 6 of The Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision), the Financial Secretary undertakes with Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”):
| 2. | That no law which is hereafter enacted in the Islands imposing any tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations shall apply to the Company or its operations; and 3. 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 shall be payable: |
| 3.2 | On or in respect of the shares, debentures or other obligations of the Company; or |
| 3.3 | by way of the withholding in whole or part, of any relevant payment as defined in Section 6(3) of the Tax Concessions Law (2018 Revision). |
These concessions shall be for a period of 20 years from the date hereof.
United States Federal Income Tax Considerations
General
The following discussion summarizes certain U.S. federal income tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our units (each consisting of one Class A ordinary share and one-half of one redeemable warrant) that are purchased in this offering by U.S. Holders (as defined below) and Non-U.S. Holders (as defined below). Because the components of a unit are generally separable at the option of the holder, the holder of a unit generally should be treated, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as the owner of the underlying Class A ordinary share and warrant components of the unit. As a result, the discussion below with respect to holders of Class A ordinary shares and warrants should also apply to holders of units (as the deemed owners of the underlying Class A ordinary shares and warrants that constitute the units).
This discussion is limited to certain U.S. federal income tax considerations to beneficial owners of our securities who are initial purchasers of a unit pursuant to this offering and hold the unit and each component of the unit as a capital asset under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). This discussion assumes that the Class A ordinary shares and warrants will trade separately and that any distributions made (or deemed made) by us on our Class A ordinary shares and any consideration received (or deemed received) by a holder in consideration for the sale or other disposition of our securities will be in U.S. dollars. This discussion is a summary only and does not describe all tax consequences that may be relevant to the acquisition, ownership and disposition of a unit by a prospective investor in light of its particular circumstances, including, but not limited to, the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on net investment income and the different consequences that may apply to investors that are subject to special rules under U.S. federal income tax laws, including but not limited to:
| ∎ | our sponsor, founders, officers or directors; |
| ∎ | banks, financial institutions or financial services entities; |
| ∎ | broker-dealers; |
| ∎ | taxpayers that are subject to the mark-to-market accounting rules; |
| ∎ | S-corporations; |
| ∎ | tax-exempt entities; |
| ∎ | governments or agencies or instrumentalities thereof; |
| ∎ | insurance companies; |
| ∎ | regulated investment companies; |
| ∎ | real estate investment trusts; |
| ∎ | controlled foreign corporations; |
| ∎ | passive foreign investment companies; |
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| ∎ | expatriates or former long-term residents of the United States; |
| ∎ | persons that actually or constructively own five percent or more (by vote or value) of our shares; |
| ∎ | persons that acquired our securities pursuant to an exercise of employee share options, in connection with employee share incentive plans or otherwise as compensation or in connection with services; |
| ∎ | partnerships (or entities or arrangements classified as partnerships or other pass-through entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and any beneficial owners of such partnerships; |
| ∎ | partnerships that hold our securities as part of a straddle, constructive sale, hedging, conversion or other integrated or similar transaction; or |
| ∎ | U.S. Holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar. |
Moreover, the discussion below is based upon the provisions of the Code, the Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder and administrative and judicial interpretations thereof, all as of the date hereof. Those authorities may be repealed, revoked, modified or subject to differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis, so as to result in U.S. federal income tax consequences different from those discussed below. Furthermore, this discussion does not address any aspect of U.S. federal non-income tax laws, such as gift, estate, or state, local or non-U.S. tax laws.
We have not sought, and will not seek, a ruling from the IRS as to any U.S. federal income tax consequence described herein. The IRS may disagree with the discussion herein, and its determination may be upheld by a court. Moreover, there can be no assurance that future legislation, regulations, administrative rulings or court decisions will not adversely affect the accuracy of the statements in this discussion.
As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes: (i) an individual citizen or resident of the United States, (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that is created or organized (or treated as created or organized) in or under the laws of the United States, any state thereof or the District of Columbia, (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation 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 United States 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.
This discussion does not consider the tax treatment of partnerships or other pass-through entities or persons who hold our securities through such entities. If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement classified as a partnership or other pass-through entity for U.S. federal income tax purposes) is the beneficial owner of our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner or member in the partnership or other pass-through entity generally will depend on the status of the partner or member and the activities of the partner and the partnership or other pass-through entity. A U.S. Holders who is a partner of a partnership or other pass-through entity holding our securities is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our securities.
THIS DISCUSSION IS ONLY A SUMMARY OF CERTAIN UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES. EACH PROSPECTIVE INVESTOR IN OUR SECURITIES IS URGED TO CONSULT ITS OWN TAX ADVISOR WITH RESPECT TO THE PARTICULAR TAX CONSEQUENCES TO SUCH INVESTOR OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR SECURITIES, INCLUDING THE APPLICABILITY AND EFFECT OF ANY UNITED STATES FEDERAL NON-INCOME, STATE, LOCAL, AND NON-UNITED STATES TAX LAWS.
Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit
No statutory, administrative or judicial authority directly addresses the treatment of a unit or instruments similar to a unit for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and therefore, that treatment is not entirely clear. The acquisition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as the acquisition of one share of our Class A ordinary shares and one-half of one warrant, two of which may be combined into a whole warrant exercisable to acquire one share of our Class A ordinary shares. We intend to treat the acquisition of a unit in this manner and, by purchasing a unit, you will agree to adopt such treatment for applicable tax purposes. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, each
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holder of a unit must allocate the purchase price paid by such holder for such unit between the one Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant based on the relative fair market value of each at the time of issuance. Under U.S. federal income tax law, each investor must make his or her own determination of such value based on all the relevant facts and circumstances. Therefore, we strongly urge each investor to consult his or her tax adviser regarding the determination of value for these purposes. The price allocated to each Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant should constitute the shareholder’s initial tax basis in such share or warrant. Any disposition of a unit should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a disposition of the Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant comprising the unit, and the amount realized on the disposition should be allocated between the Class A ordinary share and one-half of one warrant based on their respective relative fair market values at the time of disposition (as determined by such unit holder based on all the relevant facts and circumstances). Neither the separation of the Class A ordinary share and the one-half of one warrant constituting a unit nor the combination of two halves of warrants into a single warrant should be a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The foregoing treatment of the units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants and a holder’s purchase price allocation are not binding on the IRS or the courts. Because there are no authorities that directly address instruments that are similar to the units, no assurance can be given that the IRS or the courts will agree with the characterization described above or the discussion below. Accordingly, each prospective investor is urged to consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of an investment in a unit (including alternative characterizations of a unit). The balance of this discussion assumes that the characterization of the units described above will be respected for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
U.S. Holders
Taxation of Distributions
Subject to the passive foreign investment company (“PFIC”) rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will be required to include in gross income, in accordance with such U.S. Holder’s method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as dividends the amount of any distribution of cash or other property (other than certain distributions of the Company’s shares or rights to acquire the Company’s shares) paid on our Class A ordinary shares to the extent the distribution is paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Such dividends paid by us will be taxable to a corporate U.S. Holder at regular rates and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to domestic corporations in respect of dividends received from other domestic corporations. Distributions in excess of such earnings and profits generally will be applied against and reduce the U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares (but not below zero) and, to the extent in excess of such basis, will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of such Class A ordinary shares (see “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below).
With respect to non-corporate U.S. Holders, under tax laws currently in effect and subject to certain exceptions (including, but not limited to, dividends treated as investment income for purposes of investment interest deduction limitations), dividends generally will be taxed at the lower applicable long-term capital gains rate (see “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” below) only if our Class A ordinary shares are readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States, the Company is not treated as a PFIC at the time the dividend was paid or in the preceding taxable year and provided certain holding period requirements are met. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period for this purpose. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability of such lower rate for any dividends paid with respect to our Class A ordinary shares.
Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize capital gain or loss on the sale or other taxable disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants (including a redemption of our Class A ordinary shares (as described below) or warrants that is treated as a taxable disposition, including pursuant to our dissolution and liquidation if we do not consummate an initial business combination within the required time period). Any such capital gain or loss generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder’s holding period for such Class A ordinary shares or warrants exceeds one year. It is unclear, however, whether certain redemption rights described in this prospectus may suspend the running of the applicable holding period of the Class A ordinary shares
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for this purpose. If the running of the holding period for the Class A ordinary shares is suspended, then non-corporate U.S. Holders may not be able to satisfy the one-year holding period requirement for long-term capital gain treatment, in which case any gain on a sale or other taxable disposition of the Class A ordinary shares would be subject to short-term capital gain treatment and would be taxed at regular ordinary income tax rates.
The amount of gain or loss recognized by a U.S. Holder on a sale or other taxable disposition generally will be equal to the difference between (i) the sum of the amount of cash and the fair market value of any property received in such disposition (or, if the Class A ordinary shares or warrants are held as part of units at the time of the disposition, the portion of the amount realized on such disposition that is allocated to the Class A ordinary shares or warrants based upon the then relative fair market values of the Class A ordinary shares and the warrants included in the units) and (ii) the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants so disposed of. A U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its Class A ordinary shares or warrants generally will equal the U.S. Holder’s acquisition cost (that is, the portion of the purchase price of a unit allocated to a Class A ordinary share or one-half of one warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) reduced, in the case of a Class A ordinary share, by any prior distributions treated as a return of capital. Long-term capital gain realized by a non-corporate U.S. Holder is currently eligible to be taxed at reduced rates. See “—Exercise or Lapse of a Warrant” below for a discussion regarding a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary share acquired pursuant to the exercise of a warrant. The deduction of capital losses is subject to certain limitations.
Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, in the event that a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares are redeemed pursuant to the redemption provisions described in this prospectus under “Description of Securities—Ordinary Shares” or if we purchase a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares in an open market transaction (such open market purchase of Class A ordinary shares by us is referred to herein as a “redemption”), the treatment of the transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes will depend on whether the redemption qualifies as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares under Section 302 of the Code. If the redemption qualifies as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as described under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants” above. If the redemption does not qualify as a sale of Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder will be treated as receiving a corporate distribution with the tax consequences described above under “—Taxation of Distributions.” Whether a redemption qualifies for sale treatment will depend largely on the total number of our shares treated as held by the U.S. Holder (including any shares constructively owned by the U.S. Holder described in the following paragraph, including as a result of owning warrants) relative to all of our shares outstanding both before and after such redemption. The redemption of Class A ordinary shares generally will be treated as a sale of the Class A ordinary shares (rather than as a corporate distribution) if such redemption (i) is “substantially disproportionate” with respect to the U.S. Holder, (ii) results in a “complete termination” of the U.S. Holder’s interest in us or (iii) is “not essentially equivalent to a dividend” with respect to the U.S. Holder. These tests are explained more fully below.
In determining whether any of the foregoing tests are satisfied, a U.S. Holder takes into account not only Class A ordinary shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder, but also our shares that are constructively owned by it. A U.S. Holder may constructively own, in addition to shares owned directly, shares owned by certain related individuals and entities in which the U.S. Holder has an interest or that have an interest in such U.S. Holder, as well as any shares the U.S. Holder has a right to acquire by exercise of an option, which would generally include Class A ordinary shares which could be acquired by such U.S. Holder pursuant to the exercise of the warrants. In order to meet the substantially disproportionate test, the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately following the redemption of Class A ordinary shares must, among other requirements, be less than 80 percent of the percentage of our issued and outstanding voting shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder immediately before the redemption. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, the Class A ordinary shares may not be treated as voting stock for this purpose and, consequently, this substantially disproportionate test may not be applicable. There will be a complete termination of a U.S. Holder’s interest if either (i) all of our shares actually and constructively owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed or (ii) all of our shares actually owned by the U.S. Holder are redeemed and the U.S. Holder is eligible to waive, and effectively waives in accordance with specific rules, the attribution of shares owned by certain family members and the U.S. Holder does not constructively own any other shares of ours (including any shares
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constructively owned by the U.S. Holder as a result of owning our warrants). The redemption of the Class A ordinary shares will not be essentially equivalent to a dividend with respect to a U.S. Holder if it results in a “meaningful reduction” of the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us. Whether the redemption will result in a meaningful reduction in a U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in us will depend on the particular facts and circumstances. However, the IRS has indicated in a published ruling that even a small reduction in the proportionate interest of a small minority shareholder in a publicly held corporation who exercises no control over corporate affairs may constitute such a “meaningful reduction.” A U.S. Holder should consult with its tax advisors as to the tax consequences of a redemption.
If none of the foregoing tests are satisfied, then the redemption will be treated as a corporate distribution and the tax effects will be as described under “—Taxation of Distributions” above. After the application of those rules, any remaining tax basis of the U.S. Holder in the redeemed Class A ordinary shares will be added to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its remaining shares, or, if it has none, to the U.S. Holder’s adjusted tax basis in its warrants or possibly in other shares constructively owned by it.
U.S. Holders who actually or constructively own five percent (or, if our Class A ordinary shares are not then publicly traded, one percent) or more of our shares (by vote or value) may be subject to special reporting requirements with respect to a redemption of Class A ordinary shares, and such holders are urged to consult with their own tax advisors with respect to their reporting requirements.
Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant
Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below and except as discussed below with respect to the cashless exercise of a warrant, a U.S. Holder generally will not recognize gain or loss upon the acquisition of a Class A ordinary share on the exercise of a warrant for cash. A U.S. Holder’s initial tax basis in a Class A ordinary share received upon exercise of the warrant generally will equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrant (that is, the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share will commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If a warrant is allowed to lapse unexercised, a U.S. Holder generally will recognize a capital loss equal to such holder’s tax basis in the warrant.
The tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant are not clear under current law. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a cashless exercise may not be taxable, either because the exercise is not a realization event or because the exercise is treated as a recapitalization for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In either situation, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received generally should equal the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants exercised therefor. If the cashless exercise was not a realization event, it is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares received would be treated as commencing on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant. If the cashless exercise were treated as a recapitalization, the holding period of the Class A ordinary shares received would include the holding period of the warrants.
It is also possible that a cashless exercise may be treated as a taxable exchange in which gain or loss would be recognized. In such event, a U.S. Holder may be deemed to have surrendered a number of warrants equal to the number of Class A ordinary shares having a value equal to the exercise price for the total number of warrants to be exercised. Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, the U.S. Holder would recognize capital gain or loss in an amount equal to the difference between the fair market value of the Class A ordinary shares received in respect of the warrants deemed surrendered and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the warrants deemed surrendered. In this case, a U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the Class A ordinary shares received would equal the sum of the U.S. Holder’s initial investment in the warrants exercised (i.e., the portion of the U.S. Holder’s purchase price for the units that is allocated to the warrant, as described above under “—Allocation of Purchase Price and Characterization of a Unit”) and the exercise price of such warrants exercised. It is unclear whether a U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary share would commence on the date of exercise of the warrant or the day following the date of exercise of the warrant; in either case, the holding period will not include the period during which the U.S. Holder held the warrant.
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Due to the absence of authority on the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a cashless exercise, including when a U.S. Holder’s holding period would commence with respect to the Class A ordinary share received. there can be no assurance which, if any, of the alternative tax consequences and holding periods described above would be adopted by the IRS or a court of law. Accordingly, a U.S. Holder should consult its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of a cashless exercise.
Subject to the PFIC rules described below, if we redeem warrants for cash pursuant to the redemption provisions described in the section of this prospectus entitled “Description of Securities—Redeemable Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or if we purchase warrants in an open market transaction, such redemption or purchase generally will be treated as a taxable disposition to the U.S. Holder, taxed as described above under “—Gain or Loss on Sale, Taxable Exchange or Other Taxable Disposition of Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants.”
Possible Constructive Distributions
The terms of each warrant provide for an adjustment to the number of Class A ordinary shares for which the warrant may be exercised or to the exercise price of the warrant in certain events, as discussed in the section of this prospectus captioned “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants.” An adjustment which has the effect of preventing dilution generally is not taxable. The U.S. Holders of the warrants would, however, be treated as receiving a constructive distribution from us if, for example, the adjustment increases the U.S. Holder’s proportionate interest in our assets or earnings and profits (e.g., through an increase in the number of Class A ordinary shares that would be obtained upon exercise or through a decrease in the exercise price of the warrant) as a result of a distribution of cash or other property to the holders of our Class A ordinary shares which would be taxable to the U.S. Holders of such Class A ordinary shares as described under “—Taxation of Distributions” above. Such constructive distribution would be subject to tax as described under that section in the same manner as if the U.S. Holders of the warrants received a cash distribution from us generally equal to the fair market value of such increased interest.
Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
A foreign (i.e., non-U.S.) corporation will be classified as a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes if either (i) at least 75% of its gross income in a taxable year, including its pro rata share of the gross income of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, is passive income or (ii) at least 50% of its assets in a taxable year (ordinarily determined based on fair market value and averaged quarterly over the year), including its pro rata share of the assets of any corporation in which it is considered to own at least 25% of the shares by value, are held for the production of, or produce, passive income. Passive income generally includes, among other things, dividends, interest, rents and royalties (other than rents or royalties derived from the active conduct of a trade or business) and gains from the disposition of assets giving rise to passive income.
Because we are a blank check company, with no current active business, we believe that it is likely that we will meet the PFIC asset and/or income test for our current taxable year. However, pursuant to a start-up exception, a corporation will not be a PFIC for the first taxable year the corporation has gross income (the “start-up year”), if (1) no predecessor of the corporation was a PFIC; (2) the corporation satisfies the IRS that it will not be a PFIC for either of the first two taxable years following the start-up year; and (3) the corporation is not in fact a PFIC for either of those years. The applicability of the start-up exception to us is uncertain and will not be known until after the close of our current taxable year or, possibly, after the close of our two subsequent taxable years. After the acquisition of a company or assets in a business combination, we may still meet one of the PFIC tests depending on the timing of the acquisition and the amount of our passive income and assets as well as the passive income and assets of the acquired business. If the company that we acquire in a business combination is a PFIC (or we do not complete a business acquisition by the end of the first taxable year after the taxable year of our formation), then we will likely not qualify for the start-up exception and will be a PFIC for our current taxable year. Our actual PFIC status for our current taxable year or any subsequent taxable year, however, will not be determinable until after the end of such taxable year (and, in the case of the startup exception to our current taxable year, perhaps until after the end of our two taxable years following our startup year). Accordingly, there can be no assurance with respect to our status as a PFIC for our current taxable year or any future taxable year. In addition, our U.S. counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for our current or future taxable years.
Although our PFIC status is determined annually, an initial determination that our company is a PFIC will generally apply for subsequent years to a U.S. Holder who held Class A ordinary shares or warrants while we were a PFIC,
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whether or not we meet the test for PFIC status in those subsequent years. If we are determined to be a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants and, in the case of our Class A ordinary shares, the U.S. Holder did not make either a timely qualified electing fund (“QEF”) election or a mark-to-market election for our first taxable year as a PFIC, and in which the U.S. Holder held (or was deemed to hold) Class A ordinary shares, as described below, such U.S. Holder generally will be subject to special and adverse rules with respect to (i) any gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on the sale or other disposition of its Class A ordinary shares or warrants (which may include gain realized by reason of transfers of Class A ordinary shares or warrants that would otherwise qualify as nonrecognition transactions for U.S. federal income tax purposes) and (ii) any “excess distribution” made to the U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such U.S. Holder during a taxable year of the U.S. Holder that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in respect of the Class A ordinary shares during the three preceding taxable years of such U.S. Holder or, if shorter, such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares).
Under these rules:
| ∎ | the U.S. Holder’s gain or excess distribution will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the Class A ordinary shares or warrants; |
| ∎ | the amount allocated to the U.S. Holder’s taxable year in which the U.S. Holder recognized the gain or received the excess distribution, or to the period in the U.S. Holder’s holding period before the first day of our first taxable year in which we are a PFIC, will be taxed as ordinary income; |
| ∎ | the amount allocated to other taxable years (or portions thereof) of the U.S. Holder and included in its holding period will be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for that year and applicable to the U.S. Holder without regard to the U.S. Holder’s other items of income and loss for such year; and |
| ∎ | an additional tax equal to the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed on the U.S. Holder with respect to the tax attributable to each such other taxable year of the U.S. Holder. |
PFIC Elections
In general, if we are determined to be a PFIC, a U.S. Holder may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences described above in respect of our Class A ordinary shares (but not our warrants) by making and maintaining a timely and valid QEF election (if eligible to do so) to include in income its pro rata share of our net capital gains (as long-term capital gain) and other earnings and profits (as ordinary income), on a current basis, in each case whether or not distributed, in the taxable year of the U.S. Holder in which or with which our taxable year ends. A U.S. Holder generally may make a separate election to defer the payment of taxes on undistributed income inclusions under the QEF rules, but if deferred, any such taxes will be subject to an interest charge.
It is not entirely clear how various aspects of the PFIC rules apply to the warrants. However, a U.S. Holder may not make a QEF election with respect to its warrants to acquire our Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if a U.S. Holder sells or otherwise disposes of such warrants (other than upon exercise of such warrants for cash) and we were a PFIC at any time during the U.S. Holder’s holding period of such warrants, any gain recognized generally will be treated as an excess distribution, taxed as described above. If a U.S. Holder that exercises such warrants properly makes and maintains a QEF election with respect to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (or has previously made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares), the QEF election will apply to the newly acquired Class A ordinary shares. Notwithstanding such QEF election, the adverse tax consequences relating to “excess distributions” discussed above, adjusted to take into account the current income inclusions resulting from the QEF election, will continue to apply with respect to such newly acquired Class A ordinary shares (which generally will be deemed to have a holding period for purposes of the PFIC rules that includes the period the U.S. Holder held the warrants), unless the U.S. Holder makes a purging election under the PFIC rules. Under one type of purging election, the U.S. Holder will be deemed to have sold such shares at their fair market value and any gain recognized on such deemed sale will be treated as an excess distribution, as described above. Under another type of purging election, an electing U.S. Holder will be treated as having received as an excess distribution its ratable share of our earnings and profits determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In order for a U.S. Holder to make the second election, we must also be a “controlled foreign corporation” as defined in the Code, and there are no assurances that we will so qualify. As a result of either purging election, the U.S. Holder will have a new basis and holding period in the Class A ordinary shares acquired upon the exercise of the warrants for purposes of the PFIC rules. U.S. Holders are urged to
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consult their tax advisors as to the application of the rules governing purging elections to their particular circumstances.
The QEF election is made on a shareholder-by-shareholder basis and, once made, can be revoked only with the consent of the IRS. A U.S. Holder generally makes a QEF election by attaching a completed IRS Form 8621 (Information Return by a Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund), including the information provided in a PFIC Annual Information Statement, to a timely filed U.S. federal income tax return for the tax year to which the election relates. Retroactive QEF elections generally may be made only by filing a protective statement with such return and if certain other conditions are met or with the consent of the IRS. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a retroactive QEF election under their particular circumstances.
In order to comply with the requirements of a QEF election, a U.S. Holder must receive a PFIC Annual Information Statement from us. If we determine we are a PFIC for any taxable year, upon written request, we will endeavor to provide to a U.S. Holder such information as the IRS may require, including a PFIC Annual Information Statement, in order to enable the U.S. Holder to make and maintain a QEF election, but there is no assurance that we will timely provide such required information. There is also no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of our status as a PFIC in the future or of the required information to be provided.
If a U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares, and the excess distribution rules discussed above do not apply to such shares (because of a timely QEF election for our first taxable year as a PFIC in which the U.S. Holder holds (or is deemed to hold) such shares or a purge of the PFIC taint pursuant to a purging election, as described above), any gain recognized on the sale of our Class A ordinary shares generally will be taxable as capital gain and no additional interest charge will be imposed under the PFIC rules. As discussed above, if we are a PFIC for any taxable year, a U.S. Holder of our Class A ordinary shares that has made a QEF election will be currently taxed on its pro rata share of our earnings and profits, whether or not distributed for such year. A subsequent distribution of such earnings and profits that were previously included in income generally should not be taxable when distributed to such U.S. Holder. The tax basis of a U.S. Holder’s shares in a QEF will be increased by amounts that are included in income, and decreased by amounts distributed but not taxed as dividends, under the above rules. In addition, if we are not a PFIC for any taxable year, such U.S. Holder will not be subject to the QEF inclusion regime with respect to our Class A ordinary shares for such taxable year.
Alternatively, if we are a PFIC and our Class A ordinary shares constitute “marketable stock,” a U.S. Holder may avoid the adverse PFIC tax consequences discussed above if such U.S. Holder, at the close of the first taxable year in which it holds (or is deemed to hold) our Class A ordinary shares, makes a mark-to-market election with respect to such shares for such taxable year. Such U.S. Holder generally will include for each of its taxable years as ordinary income the excess, if any, of the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of such year over its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares. These amounts of ordinary income would not be eligible for the favorable tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income or long-term capital gains. The U.S. Holder also will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of the excess, if any, of its adjusted basis in its Class A ordinary shares over the fair market value of its Class A ordinary shares at the end of its taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of previously included income as a result of the mark-to-market election). The U.S. Holder’s basis in its Class A ordinary shares will be adjusted to reflect any such income or loss amounts, and any further gain recognized on a sale or other taxable disposition of its Class A ordinary shares will be treated as ordinary income. Currently, a mark-to-market election may not be made with respect to warrants.
The mark-to-market election is available only for “marketable stock,” which generally is stock that is regularly traded on a national securities exchange that is registered with the SEC, including the NYSE (on which we intend to list the Class A ordinary shares), or on a foreign exchange or market that the IRS determines has rules sufficient to ensure that the market price represents a legitimate and sound fair market value. If made, a mark-to-market election would be effective for the taxable year for which the election was made and for all subsequent taxable years unless the Class A ordinary shares ceased to qualify as “marketable stock” for purposes of the PFIC rules or the IRS consented to the revocation of the election. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and tax consequences of a mark-to-market election with respect to our Class A ordinary shares under their particular circumstances.
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If we are a PFIC and, at any time, have a foreign subsidiary that is classified as a PFIC, U.S. Holders generally would be deemed to own a portion of the shares of such lower-tier PFIC, and generally could incur liability for the deferred tax and interest charge described above if we receive a distribution from, or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower-tier PFIC or the U.S. Holders otherwise were deemed to have disposed of an interest in the lower-tier PFIC. We will endeavor to cause any lower-tier PFIC to provide to a U.S. Holder the information that may be required to make or maintain a QEF election with respect to the lower-tier PFIC. There can be no assurance that we will have timely knowledge of the status of any such lower-tier PFIC. In addition, we may not hold a controlling interest in any such lower-tier PFIC and thus there can be no assurance we will be able to cause the lower-tier PFIC to provide such required information. A mark-to-market election generally would not be available with respect to such lower-tier PFIC. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the tax issues raised by lower-tier PFICs.
A U.S. Holder that owns (or is deemed to own) shares in a PFIC during any taxable year of the U.S. Holder, may have to file an IRS Form 8621 (whether or not a QEF or mark-to-market election is made) and such other information as may be required by the U.S. Treasury Department. Failure to do so, if required, will extend the statute of limitations until such required information is furnished to the IRS.
The rules dealing with PFICs and with the QEF, purging and mark-to-market elections are very complex and are affected by various factors in addition to those described above. Accordingly, U.S. Holders of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants should consult their tax advisors concerning the application of the PFIC rules to our securities under their particular circumstances.
Tax Reporting
Certain U.S. Holders may be required to file an IRS Form 926 (Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation) to report a transfer of property (including cash) to us. Substantial penalties may be imposed on a U.S. Holder that fails to comply with this reporting requirement and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes will be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Furthermore, certain U.S. Holders who are individuals and certain entities will be required to report information with respect to such U.S. Holder’s investment in “specified foreign financial assets” on IRS Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), subject to certain exceptions. Specified foreign financial assets generally include any financial account maintained with a non-U.S. financial institution and should also include the Class A ordinary shares and warrants if they are not held in an account maintained with a U.S. financial institution. Persons who are required to report specified foreign financial assets and fail to do so may be subject to substantial penalties and the period of limitations on assessment and collection of U.S. federal income taxes may be extended in the event of a failure to comply. Potential investors are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding the foreign financial asset and other reporting obligations and their application to an investment in our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
Non-U.S. Holders
This section applies to you if you are a “Non-U.S. Holder.” As used herein, the term “Non-U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our units, Class A ordinary shares or warrants (other than a partnership or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) who or that is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
| ∎ | a non-resident alien individual (other than certain former citizens and residents of the United States subject to U.S. tax as expatriates); |
| ∎ | a foreign corporation; or |
| ∎ | an estate or trust that is not a U.S. Holder; but generally does not include an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of disposition. A U.S. Holder who is such an individual should consult its tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our securities. |
Dividends (including, as described under “—U.S. Holders—Possible Constructive Distributions” above, constructive distributions treated as dividends) paid or deemed paid to a Non-U.S. Holder in respect of our Class A ordinary shares generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax, unless the dividends are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such Non-U.S. Holder maintains
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in the United States). In addition, a Non-U.S. Holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain attributable to a sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares or warrants unless such gain is effectively connected with its conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base that such holder maintains in the United States), or the Non-U.S Holder is an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of sale or other disposition and certain other conditions are met (in which case, such gain from the United States sources generally is subject to tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable treaty rate).
Dividends (including, as described under “—U.S. Holders—Possible Constructive Distributions” above, constructive distributions treated as dividends ) and gains that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. Holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base in the United States) generally will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to a comparable U.S. Holder and, in the case of a Non-U.S. Holder that is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, also may be subject to an additional branch profits tax at a 30% rate or a lower applicable tax treaty rate.
The characterization for U.S. federal income tax purposes of the redemption of a Non-U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares will generally correspond to the U.S. federal income tax characterization of such a redemption of a U.S. Holder’s Class A ordinary shares, as described under “U.S. Holders—Redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. Holder will be as described in the paragraphs above under the heading “Non-U.S. Holders” based on such characterization.
The U.S. federal income tax treatment of a Non-U.S. Holder’s exercise of a warrant, or the lapse of a warrant held by a Non-U.S. Holder, generally will correspond to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the exercise or lapse of a warrant by a U.S. Holder, as described under “—U.S. Holders—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant,” above, although to the extent a cashless exercise results in a taxable exchange, the consequences would be similar to those described in the preceding paragraphs above for a Non-U.S. Holder’s gain on the sale or other disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants.
The characterization for United States federal income tax purposes of the redemption of the Non-U.S. Holder’s warrants generally will correspond to the United States federal income tax treatment of such a redemption of a U.S. Holder’s warrants, as described under “—U.S. Holders—Exercise, Lapse or Redemption of a Warrant” above, and the consequences of the redemption to the Non-U.S. Holder will be as described in the paragraphs above under the heading “—Non-U.S. Holders” based on such characterization.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Dividend payments with respect to our Class A ordinary shares and proceeds from the sale, exchange or redemption of our Class A ordinary shares may be subject to information reporting to the IRS and possible U.S. backup withholding. Backup withholding will not apply, however, to a U.S. Holder who furnishes a correct taxpayer identification number and makes other required certifications, or who is otherwise exempt from backup withholding and establishes such exempt status. A Non-U.S. Holder generally will eliminate the requirement for information reporting and backup withholding by providing certification of its foreign status, under penalties of perjury, on a duly executed applicable IRS Form W-8 or by otherwise establishing an exemption.
Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Amounts withheld as backup withholding may be credited against a holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder generally may obtain a refund of any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules by timely filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS and furnishing any required information.
The U.S. federal income tax discussion set forth above is included for general information only and may not be applicable depending upon a holder’s particular situation. Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences to them of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our Class A ordinary shares and warrants, including the tax consequences under state, local, estate, foreign and other tax laws and tax treaties and the possible effects of changes in U.S. or other tax laws.
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Jefferies LLC is acting as sole book-running manager of the offering and as representative of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement between us and Jefferies LLC, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the respective number of units shown opposite its name below:
| UNDERWRITER |
NUMBER OF UNITS | |||
| Jefferies LLC |
||||
| •. |
||||
| • |
||||
|
|
|
|||
| Total |
20,000,000 | |||
|
|
|
|||
The underwriting agreement will provide that the obligations of the underwriters to purchase the units included in this offering are subject to all applicable laws and regulations and certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriting agreement will provide that the underwriters will purchase all of the units if any of them are purchased (other than those covered by the over-allotment option described below). We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters have advised us that, following the completion of this offering, they currently intend to make a market in the units as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, the underwriters are not obligated to do so, and the underwriters may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in their sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the units, that you will be able to sell any of the units held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.
The underwriters are offering the units subject to their acceptance of the units from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part. In addition, the underwriters have advised us that they do not intend to confirm sales to any account over which they exercise discretionary authority.
Commission and Expenses
The underwriters have advised us that they propose to offer the units to the public at the initial public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus and to certain dealers, which may include the underwriters, at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per unit. The underwriters may allow, and certain dealers may reallow, a discount from the concession not in excess of $ per unit to certain brokers and dealers. After the offering, the initial public offering price, concession and reallowance to dealers may be reduced by the representative. No such reduction will change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
The following table shows the public offering price, the underwriting discounts and commissions that we are to pay the underwriters and the proceeds, before expenses, to us in connection with this offering. Such amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units.
| PAID BY GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.(2) | ||||||||
| NO EXERCISE | FULL EXERCISE | |||||||
| Per Unit(1) |
$ | 0.55 | $ | 0.55 | ||||
| Total(1) |
$ | 11,000,000 | $ | 12,650,000 | ||||
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| (1) | $0.20 per unit, or $4,000,000 in the aggregate (or $4,600,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units in full), is payable upon the closing of this offering. $0.35 per unit, or $7,000,000 in the aggregate (or $8,050,000 in the aggregate if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional units in full) payable to the underwriters for deferred underwriting commissions will be placed in a trust account located in the United States as described herein. The deferred commissions will be released to the underwriters only on and concurrently with completion of an initial business combination. |
If we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering, the underwriters have agreed that (i) they will forfeit any rights or claims to their deferred underwriting discounts and commissions, including any accrued interest thereon, then in the trust account and (ii) the deferred underwriters’ discounts and commissions will be distributed on a pro rata basis, together with any accrued interest thereon (which interest will be net of taxes payable) to the public shareholders.
We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $1,000,000. We have agreed to pay certain fees and expenses of the underwriters and have agreed to provide Jefferies LLC with a right of first refusal to provide investment banking and/or financial advisory services in connection with certain future transactions.
Determination of Offering Price
Prior to this offering, there has not been a public market for our securities. Consequently, the initial public offering price for our units was determined by negotiations between us and the representative. Among the factors considered in these negotiations were the history and prospects of companies whose principal business is the acquisition of other companies, prior offerings of those companies, our management, our capital structure, and currently prevailing general conditions in equity securities markets, including current market valuations of publicly traded companies considered comparable to our company.
We offer no assurances that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which the units will trade in the public market subsequent to the offering or that an active trading market for the units will develop and continue after the offering.
Listing
We intend to apply to have our units listed on the NYSE under the trading symbol “GNPK.U.” We expect that our Class A ordinary shares and warrants will be listed under the symbols “GNPK” and “GNPK WS,” respectively, once the Class A ordinary shares and warrants begin separate trading.
Stamp Taxes
If you purchase units offered in this prospectus, you may be required to pay stamp taxes and other charges under the laws and practices of the country of purchase, in addition to the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus.
Option to Purchase Additional Units
We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 45 days from the date of this prospectus, to purchase, from time to time, in whole or in part, up to an aggregate of 3,000,000 units from us at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, less underwriting discounts and commissions. If the underwriters exercise this option, each underwriter will be obligated, subject to specified conditions, to purchase a number of additional units proportionate to that underwriter’s initial purchase commitment as indicated in the table above. This option may be exercised only if the underwriters sell more units than the total number set forth on the cover page of this prospectus.
Commitment to Purchase Private Placement Warrants
Jefferies, an underwriter for this offering, has committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase 500,000 private placement warrants (or 575,000 private placement warrants in the event the underwriters’ overallotment option is exercised) for an aggregate purchase price of $500,000 (or $575,000 in the event the underwriters’
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overallotment option is exercised) or $1.00 per warrant, in the private placement that will occur simultaneously with the completion of this offering. The private placement warrants purchased by Jefferies will be identical to the warrants being sold as part of the units in this offering except that they will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis for as long as such private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its permitted transferees. Additionally, for so long as such private placement warrants are held by Jefferies or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. The private placement warrants purchased by Jefferies have been deemed compensation by FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuant to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Additionally, the private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by Jefferies may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of this prospectus except to any selected dealer participating in the offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriters and any such participating selected dealer. The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise thereof) purchased by Jefferies will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
Letter Agreement
We, our sponsor and our officers and directors have agreed that, for a period of 185 days from the date of this prospectus, we and they will not, without the prior written consent of Jefferies LLC, offer, sell, contract to sell, grant any option to sell (including any short sale), pledge, transfer, establish an open “put equivalent option” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act, as amended, or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any units, warrants, ordinary shares or any other securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, ordinary shares currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially, or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing; provided, however, that we may (1) issue and sell the private placement warrants, (2) issue and sell the additional units to cover our underwriters’ over-allotment option (if any), (3) register with the SEC pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in this offering, the resale of the private placement warrants and Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants and the founder shares and (4) issue securities in connection with an initial business combination. Jefferies LLC in its sole discretion may release any of the securities subject to these lock-up agreements at any time without notice.
Our initial shareholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of their founder shares until the earlier to occur of (A) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (B) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the reported closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share sub-divisions, share dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 180 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital 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 (except as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”). Any permitted transferees will be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial shareholders with respect to any founder shares. We refer to such transfer restrictions throughout this prospectus as the lock-up.
The private placement warrants (including the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination (except with respect to permitted transferees as described herein under the section of this prospectus entitled “Principal Shareholders—Restrictions on Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants”).
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Stabilization
The underwriters have advised us that they, pursuant to Regulation M under the Exchange Act, as amended, and certain persons participating in the offering may engage in short sale transactions, purchases to cover short positions, which may include purchases pursuant to the over-allotment option, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the units at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Establishing short sales positions may involve either “covered” short sales or “naked” short sales.
“Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units in this offering. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their option to purchase additional units or purchasing units in the open market. In determining the source of units to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase units through the option to purchase additional units.
“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional units. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.
A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriters for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the units. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of units on behalf of the underwriters to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriters in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriter’s purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our units. As a result, the price of our units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriters to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the units originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our units. The underwriters are not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, any of the activities may be discontinued at any time.
The underwriters may also engage in passive market making transactions in our units on the NYSE in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of our units in this offering and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by one or more of the underwriters or their affiliates. In those cases, prospective investors may view offering terms online and may be allowed to place orders online. The underwriters may agree with us to allocate a specific number of units for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriters on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriters’ web sites and any information contained in any other web site maintained by any of the underwriters is not part of this prospectus, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriters and should not be relied upon by investors.
Other Activities and Relationships
We are not under any contractual obligation to engage any of the underwriters to provide any services for us after this offering, and have no present intent to do so. However, any of the underwriters may introduce us to potential target
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businesses or assist us in raising additional capital in the future. If any of the underwriters provide services to us after this offering, we may pay such underwriter fair and reasonable fees that would be determined at that time in an arm’s length negotiation; provided that no agreement will be entered into with any of the underwriters and no fees for such services will be paid to any of the underwriters prior to the date that is 90 days from the date of this prospectus, unless FINRA determines that such payment would not be deemed underwriters’ compensation in connection with this offering and we may pay the underwriters of this offering or any entity with which they are affiliated a finder’s fee or other compensation for services rendered to us in connection with the completion of a business combination.
The underwriters and certain of their affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. The underwriters and certain of their affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various commercial and investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and certain of their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and securities activities may involve securities and/or instruments issued by us and our affiliates. The underwriters and certain of their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas and/or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long and/or short positions in such securities and instruments.
Selling Restrictions
Canada
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of the securities in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the securities in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws, which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing the securities in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
| ∎ | the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the securities without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an “accredited investor” as defined under National Instrument 45-106—Prospectus Exemptions; |
| ∎ | the purchaser is a “permitted client” as defined in National Instrument 31-103—Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations; |
| ∎ | where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent; and |
| ∎ | the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions. |
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the prospectus (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation; provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
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Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers, as well as the experts named herein, may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of the securities should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in the securities in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the securities for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
Australia
This prospectus is not a disclosure document for the purposes of Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) of Australia, or Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to the categories of exempt persons set out below. Accordingly, if you receive this prospectus in Australia:
You confirm and warrant that you are either:
| ∎ | a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act; |
| ∎ | a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the Company which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made; |
| ∎ | a person associated with the Company under Section 708(12) of the Corporations Act; or |
| ∎ | a “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act. |
To the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor, associated person or professional investor under the Corporations Act any offer made to you under this prospectus is void and incapable of acceptance.
You warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the securities issued to you pursuant to this prospectus for resale in Australia within 12 months of those securities being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.
European Economic Area
The units are not intended to be offered or sold to and should not be offered or sold to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU, as amended (“MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC, as amended, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in the Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, the “Prospectus Directive”). No key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014, as amended (the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the units or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared. Offering or selling the units or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPS Regulation. This prospectus has been prepared on the basis that any offer of the units in any member state of the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from a requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of units. This prospectus is not a prospectus for the purpose of the Prospectus Directive.
Hong Kong
No securities have been offered or sold, and no securities may be offered or sold, in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong (“SFO”) and any rules made under that ordinance; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong (“CO”) or which do not constitute an offer or invitation to the public for the purpose of the CO or the SFO. No document, invitation or
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advertisement relating to the securities has been issued or may be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made under that Ordinance.
This prospectus has not been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this prospectus may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the securities may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the securities will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the securities, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the securities described in this prospectus and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any securities in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.
Israel
This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968 (the “Israel Securities Law”), and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In Israel, this prospectus is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the units is directed only at, (i) a limited number of persons in accordance with the Israeli Securities Law and (ii) investors listed in the first addendum (the “Addendum”), to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals,” each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case, purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors are required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.
Japan
The offering has not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948 of Japan, as amended) (“FIEL”), and the underwriters will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEL and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.
Singapore
This prospectus has not been and will not be lodged or registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of the securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore (the “SFA”), (ii) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA. Solely for the purposes of its obligations pursuant to Sections 309B(1)(a) and 309B(1)(c) of the SFA, the Company has determined, and hereby notifies all relevant persons (as defined in Section 309A of the SFA) that the units are “prescribed capital markets products” (as defined in the Securities and Futures (Capital Markets Products) Regulations 2018) and “Excluded Investment Products” (as defined in MAS Notice SFA 04-N12: Notice on the Sale of Investment Products and MAS Notice FAA-N16: Notice on Recommendations on Investment Products).
Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:
| ∎ | a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or |
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| ∎ | a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except: |
| ∎ | to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA; |
| ∎ | where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; |
| ∎ | where the transfer is by operation of law; |
| ∎ | as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or |
| ∎ | as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore. |
Switzerland
The securities may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (“SIX”) or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This prospectus has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the securities or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.
Neither this prospectus nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the Company or the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this prospectus will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (“CISA”). The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.
United Kingdom
This prospectus is only being distributed to, and is only directed at, persons in the United Kingdom that are qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive that are also (i) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the “Order”) and/or (ii) high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (each such person being referred to as a “relevant person”).
This prospectus and its contents are confidential and should not be distributed, published or reproduced (in whole or in part) or disclosed by recipients to any other persons in the United Kingdom. Any person in the United Kingdom that is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.
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Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, New York, New York will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to units and warrants. Maples & Calder will pass upon the validity of the securities offered in this prospectus with respect to the ordinary shares and matters of Cayman Islands law. In connection with this offering, White & Case LLP, New York, New York advised the underwriters in connection with the offering of the securities.
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The financial statements of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. as of July 30, 2020 and for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020, appearing in this prospectus have been audited by WithumSmith+Brown, PC, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, appearing elsewhere in this prospectus and are included in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
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WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the securities we are offering by this prospectus. This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For further information about us and our securities, you should refer to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed with the registration statement. Whenever we make reference in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the references are materially complete but may not include a description of all aspects of such contracts, agreements or other documents, and you should refer to the exhibits attached to the registration statement for copies of the actual contract, agreement or other document.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information requirements of the Exchange Act and will file annual, quarterly and current event reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. You can read our SEC filings, including the registration statement, over the Internet at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
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| PAGE | ||||
| Financial Statements of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. | ||||
| F-2 | ||||
| F-3 | ||||
| Statement of Operations for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020 |
F-4 | |||
| F-5 | ||||
| Statement of Cash Flows for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020 |
F-6 | |||
| F-7 | ||||
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholder and the Board of Directors of
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheet of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of July 30, 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of July 30, 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
New York, New York
September 25, 2020
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GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
July 30, 2020
| Assets |
||||
| Current assets—cash |
$ | — | ||
| Deferred offering costs |
100,000 | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Total Assets |
$ | 100,000 | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity |
||||
| Accrued offering costs and expenses |
$ | 80,111 | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Total current liabilities |
80,111 | |||
| Commitments and Contingencies |
||||
| Shareholder’s Equity: |
||||
| Preference shares, $0.0001 par value; 2,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
— | |||
| Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 230,000,000 shares authorized; none issued and outstanding |
— | |||
| Class B ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value; 20,000,000 shares authorized; 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding (1) |
575 | |||
| Additional paid-in capital |
24,425 | |||
| Accumulated deficit |
(5,111 | ) | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Total shareholder’s equity |
19,889 | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity |
$ | 100,000 | ||
|
|
|
| (1) | Includes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters. (See Note 6) |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
For the Period from July 29, 2020 (Inception) through July 30, 2020
| Formation costs |
$ | 5,111 | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Net loss |
$ | (5,111 | ) | |
|
|
|
|||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, basic and diluted (1) |
5,000,000 | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Basic and diluted net loss per share |
$ | (0.00 | ) | |
|
|
|
| (1) | Excludes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 6). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
Statement of Changes in Shareholder’s Equity
| CLASS B ORDINARY SHARES |
ADDITIONAL PAID-IN CAPITAL |
ACCUMULATED DEFICIT |
SHAREHOLDER’S EQUITY |
|||||||||||||||||
| SHARES (1) | AMOUNT | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of July 29, 2020 (inception) |
— | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | $ | — | |||||||||||
| Class B ordinary shares issued to Sponsor |
5,750,000 | 575 | 24,425 | — | 25,000 | |||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | (5,111 | ) | (5,111 | ) | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
| Balance as of July 30, 2020 |
5,750,000 | $ | 575 | $ | 24,425 | $ | (5,111 | ) | $ | 19,889 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
| (1) | Includes up to 750,000 Class B ordinary shares subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part by the underwriters (see Note 6). |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
For the Period from July 29, 2020 (Inception) through July 30, 2020
| Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||
| Net loss |
$ | (5,111 | ) | |
| Changes in current assets and liabilities: |
||||
| Accrued offering costs and expenses |
5,111 | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
— | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Net change in cash |
— | |||
| Cash, beginning of the period |
— | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Cash, end of the period |
$ | — | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: |
||||
| Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for issuance of Class B ordinary shares |
$ | 25,000 | ||
|
|
|
|||
| Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs and expenses |
$ | 75,000 | ||
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the financial statements.
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GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
Note 1—Organization and Business Operations
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Cayman Islands exempted company on July 29, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (“Business Combination”). The Company has not selected any specific business combination target and the Company has not, nor has anyone on its behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target with respect to the Business Combination.
As of July 30, 2020, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020 relates to the Company’s formation and the proposed initial public offering described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the Proposed Public Offering (as defined below). The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
The Company’s sponsor is Genesis Park Holdings, a Cayman Islands limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company’s ability to commence operations is contingent upon obtaining adequate financial resources through a proposed public offering (the “Proposed Public Offering”) of 20,000,000 units (each, a “Unit” and collectively, the “Units”) at $10.00 per Unit (or 23,000,000 units if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), which is discussed in Note 3, and the sale of 6,000,000 warrants (or 6,600,000 warrants if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) (each, a “Private Placement Warrant” and collectively, the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Sponsor and Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”), an underwriter for the Proposed Public Offering, that will close simultaneously with the Proposed Public Offering. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, and one-half of one redeemable warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described in this Proposed Public Offering. Only whole warrants are exercisable.
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Proposed Public Offering and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the Trust Account (as defined below) (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes, if permitted, and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post- transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
Upon the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, management has agreed that an amount equal to at least $10.00 per Unit sold in the Proposed Public Offering, including the proceeds of the Private Placement Warrants, will be held in a trust account (“Trust Account”), invested only in U.S. government securities, only in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to the Company to pay its tax obligations, the proceeds from this offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will not be released from the trust account until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a shareholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (i) to modify the substance or timing of
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the Company’s obligation to provide for the redemption of its public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of its public shares if the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering or (ii) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (c) the redemption of the Company’s public shares if the Company is unable to complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, subject to applicable law.
The Company will provide its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of the 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 a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The shareholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially approximately $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations).
The ordinary shares subject to redemption will be recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks shareholder approval, a majority of the issued and outstanding shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.
If a shareholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination.
If, however, shareholder approval of the transactions is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain shareholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. Additionally, each Public Shareholder may elect to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.
Notwithstanding the foregoing redemption rights, if the Company seeks shareholder approval of its initial business combination and the Company do not conduct redemptions in connection with its initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association will 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 this offering, without the Company’s prior consent.
The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors (the “initial shareholders”) have agreed not to propose any amendment to Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (a) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to provide for the redemption of its public shares in connection with an initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if the Company do not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering (the “Combination Period”) or (b) with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless the Company provide its public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in conjunction with any such amendment.
If the Company is unable to complete its 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 not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the
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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 the Company (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish Public Shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
The Company’s initial shareholders agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any founder shares held by them if the Company fails to complete its initial business combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial shareholders acquire public shares in or after the Proposed Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such public shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination the Combination Period.
Emerging Growth Company
The Company is an “emerging growth company”, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Business Startups Act of 2012, ( the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act 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.
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. The Company intends to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
Note 2—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 (“US GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” ).
The Company does not have sufficient liquidity to meet its anticipated obligations over the next year from the date of issuance of these financial statements. In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the Company has access to funds from the Sponsor that are sufficient to fund the working capital needs of the Company until the earlier of the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering or one year from the date of issuance of these financial statements.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US 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 expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Deferred Offering Costs
Deferred offering costs consist of underwriting, legal, accounting and other expenses incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Proposed Public Offering and that will be charged to shareholders’ equity upon the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. Should the Proposed Public Offering prove to be unsuccessful, these deferred costs, as well as additional expenses to be incurred, will be charged to operations.
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Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of cash accounts in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. The Company has not experienced losses on these accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such accounts.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheet, primarily due to their short-term nature.
Net Loss Per Ordinary Share
Net loss per ordinary share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the period, excluding ordinary shares subject to forfeiture. Weighted average shares were reduced for the effect of an aggregate of 750,000 shares that are subject to forfeiture if the over-allotment option is not exercised by the underwriters (see Note 6). At July 30, 2020, the Company did not have any dilutive securities and other contracts that could, potentially, be exercised or converted into shares and then share in the earnings of the Company. As a result, diluted loss per share is the same as basic loss per share for the period presented.
Income Taxes
The Company follows the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes”. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statements carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.
ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of July 30, 2020. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s only major tax jurisdiction. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
There is currently no taxation imposed on income by the government of the Cayman Islands. In accordance with Cayman federal income tax regulations, income taxes are not levied on the Company. Consequently, income taxes are not reflected in the Company’s financial statements. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not effective, accounting standards, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
Note 3—Proposed Public Offering
Pursuant to the Proposed Public Offering, the Company intends to offer for sale 20,000,000 Units at a price of $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, par value $0.001 per share and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment (see Note 6).
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Note 4—Private Placement
The Sponsor and Jefferies, an underwriter for the Proposed Public Offering, have committed to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 warrants (or 6,600,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate, or $6,600,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of the aggregate warrants to be sold in the private placement, the Sponsor has agreed to purchase 5,500,000 warrants (or 6,025,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full) and Jefferies has agreed to purchase 500,000 warrants (or 575,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full). A portion of the purchase price of the private placement warrants will be added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the trust account such that, at the time of closing, $200.0 million (or $230.0 million if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be held in the trust account. If the Company does not complete its initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account will be used to fund the redemption of the Company’s public shares (subject to the requirements of applicable law) and the private placement warrants will expire worthless.
Note 5—Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
On July 30, 2020, the Sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share, to cover certain offering costs in consideration for 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 (the “Founder Shares”). Up to 750,000 Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters. The forfeiture will be adjusted to the extent that the over-allotment option is not exercised in full by the underwriters so that the Founder Shares will represent 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares after the Proposed Public Offering. If the Company increases or decreases the size of the offering, the Company will effect a share capitalization or share contribution back to capital, as applicable, immediately prior to the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering in such amount as to maintain the Founder Share ownership of the Company’s shareholders prior to the Proposed Public Offering at 20.0% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering.
The initial shareholders will agree, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (i) one year after the completion of the initial Business Combination, or (ii) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction after the initial Business Combination that results in all of the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property; except to certain permitted transferees and under certain circumstances (the “lock-up”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if (1) the closing price of Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after the initial Business Combination or (2) if the Company consummates a transaction after the initial Business Combination which results in the Company’s shareholders having the right to exchange their shares for cash, securities or other property, the Founder Shares will be released from the lock-up.
Promissory Note—Related Party
The Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). This loan is non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the completion of the Proposed Public Offering. The Company intends to repay the Note from the proceeds of the Proposed Offering not being placed in the Trust Account. As of July 30, 2020, there were no outstanding borrowings under the Note.
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Working Capital Loans
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans.
Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1.5 million of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into private placement warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant. As of July 30, 2020, the Company had no borrowings under the Working Capital Loans.
Administrative Support Agreement
Commencing on the date of the final prospectus, the Company has agreed to pay the Sponsor a total of $15,000 per month for office space, secretarial and administrative services. Upon completion of the Initial Business Combination or the Company’s liquidation, the Company will cease paying these monthly fees.
Note 6—Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of (i) the Founder Shares, which were issued in a private placement prior to the closing of the Proposed Public Offering, (ii) private placement warrants, which will be issued in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of the Proposed Public Offering and the Class A ordinary shares underlying such private placement warrants, (iii) private placement warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans (and the securities underlying such warrants) and (iv) the units purchased by Genesis Park in this offering and the Class A ordinary shares and warrants comprising the units (including the Class A ordinary shares underlying the warrants in the units) will have registration rights to require the Company to register a sale of any of its securities held by them (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares into Class A ordinary shares) pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement to be signed prior to or on the effective date of the Proposed Public Offering. These holders of these securities will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company registers such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company, subject to certain limitations. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Underwriting Agreement
The Company granted the underwriters a 45-day option from the date of the Proposed Offering to purchase up to 3,000,000 additional Units to cover over-allotments, if any, at the price paid by the underwriters in the Proposed Offering. The underwriters will be entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per unit, or $4.0 million in the aggregate (or $4.6 million in the aggregate if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full), payable upon the closing of the Proposed Offering. Additionally, a deferred underwriting discount of $0.35 per unit, or $7 million in the aggregate (or $8.05 million in the aggregate if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) will be payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that the Company completes a Business Combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
Risks and Uncertainties
Management is currently evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have a negative effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations, close of the Proposed Public Offering and/or search for a target company, the specific impact is not readily determinable as of the date of these financial statements. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Note 7—Shareholder’s Equity
Preference Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 2,000,000 preference shares with a par value of $0.0001 and with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of July 30, 2020, there were no preference shares issued or outstanding.
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Class A Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 230,000,000 Class A ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. At July 30, 2020, there were no Class A ordinary shares issued or outstanding.
Class B Ordinary Shares—The Company is authorized to issue 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders are entitled to one vote for each share of Class B ordinary shares. At July 30, 2020, there were 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. Of the 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, an aggregate of up to 750,000 shares are subject to forfeiture to the Company for no consideration to the extent that the underwriters’ over-allotment option is not exercised in full or in part, so that the initial shareholders will collectively own 20% of the Company’s issued and outstanding ordinary shares after the Proposed Public Offering.
Holders of the Class A ordinary shares and holders of the Class B ordinary shares will vote together as a single class on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders, except as required by law or stock exchange rule; provided that only holders of the Class B ordinary shares have the right to vote on the election of the Company’s directors prior to the initial Business Combination and holders of a majority of the Company’s Class B ordinary shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares on the first business day following the consummation of the initial Business Combination 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 as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of ordinary shares issued and outstanding (excluding the Private Placement Shares) upon the consummation of the Proposed Public Offering, plus (ii) the sum of the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, excluding any Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities 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 Shares issued to the Sponsor, members of the Company’s management team or any of their affiliates 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.
Note 8—Subsequent Events
Subsequent to July 30, 2020, the Company has drawn an additional $30,500 under the Promissory Note.
The notes to the financial statements include a discussion of material events, if any, which have occurred subsequent to July 30, 2020 (referred to as “subsequent events”) through the date these financial statements were available for issuance on September 25, 2020. Management has evaluated the subsequent events through this date and has concluded that no other material subsequent events have occurred that require adjustment or disclosure in the financial statements.
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20,000,000 Units
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
Sole Book-Running Manager
Jefferies
, 2020
Until , 2020, all dealers that buy, sell or trade our ordinary shares, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers’ obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
We have not, and the underwriter has not, authorized anyone to provide you with any information or to make any representatives other than contained in this prospectus. We and the underwriter take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may provide you. We are not, and the underwriter is not, making an offer to sell securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus.
No dealer, salesperson or any other person is authorized to give any information or make any representations in connection with this offering other than those contained in this prospectus and, if given or made, the information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by us. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security other than the securities offered by this prospectus, or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities by anyone in any jurisdiction in which the offer or solicitation is not authorized or is unlawful.
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PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
The estimated expenses payable by us in connection with the offering described in this registration statement (other than the underwriting discount and commissions) will be as follows:
| SEC/FINRA expenses |
$ | 65,000 | ||
| Accounting fees and expenses |
40,000 | |||
| Printing and engraving expenses |
40,000 | |||
| Travel and road show expenses |
20,000 | |||
| Directors & officers liability insurance premiums (1) |
170,000 | |||
| Legal fees and expenses |
360,000 | |||
| NYSE listing and filing fees |
85,000 | |||
| Miscellaneous |
220,000 | |||
|
|
|
|||
| Total |
$ | 1,000,000 |
| (1) | This amount represents the approximate amount of annual director and officer liability insurance premiums the registrant anticipates paying following the completion of its initial public offering and until it completes an initial business combination. |
Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
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 will 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 may purchase a policy of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance that insures our officers and directors against the cost of defense, settlement or payment of a judgment in some circumstances and insures us against our obligations to indemnify our officers and directors.
Our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account, and have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any services provided to us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. 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.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers or persons controlling us pursuant to the foregoing provisions, we have been informed that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.
Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement to be filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement, we have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify us against certain civil liabilities that may be incurred in connection with this offering, including certain liabilities under the Securities Act.
Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.
In July 2020, our sponsor purchased 5,750,000 founder shares (up to an aggregate of 750,000 shares of which are subject to surrender for no consideration depending on the extent to which the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option) in exchange for a capital contribution of $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of this offering. Such securities were issued in connection with our
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organization pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act. Our sponsor is an accredited investor for purposes of Rule 501 of Regulation D.
In addition, our sponsor and Jefferies LLC have committed, pursuant to a written agreement, to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 warrants (or 6,600,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($6,000,000 in the aggregate, or $6,600,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full), each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at a price of $11.50 per share, in a private placement that will close simultaneously with the closing of this offering. Of the aggregate warrants to be sold in the private placement, our sponsor has agreed to purchase 5,500,000 warrants (or 6,025,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full) and Jefferies LLC has agreed to purchase 500,000 warrants (or 575,000 warrants if the over-allotment is exercised in full). These purchases will take place on a private placement basis simultaneously with the completion of our initial public offering. This issuance will be made pursuant to the exemption from registration contained in Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act.
Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.
| (a) | Exhibits. The list of exhibits preceding the signature page of this registration statement is incorporated herein by reference. |
| (b) | Financial Statements. See page F-1 for an index to the financial statements and schedules included in the registration statement. |
Item 17. Undertakings.
| (a) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser. |
| (b) | Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. |
| (c) | The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that: |
| (1) | For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective. |
| (2) | For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
| (3) | For the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 of any purchaser, if the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use. |
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| (4) | For the purpose of determining liability of a registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of an undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser: |
| (i) | any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424; |
| (ii) | any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by an undersigned registrant; |
| (iii) | the portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and |
| (iv) | any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser. |
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EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | Filed herewith. |
| ** | Previously filed. |
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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant has duly caused this amended Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Houston, State of Texas, on the 6th day of October, 2020.
| GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: | /s/ Paul W. Hobby | |
| Paul W. Hobby | ||
| Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this amended Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| NAME |
POSITION |
DATE | ||
| /s/ Paul W. Hobby Paul W. Hobby |
Chief Executive Officer and Director (principal executive officer) |
October 6, 2020 | ||
| /s/ Jonathan E. Baliff Jonathan E. Baliff |
Chief Financial Officer and Director (principal financial and accounting officer) |
October 6, 2020 | ||
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Exhibit 1.1
GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
[_______], 2020
JEFFERIES LLC
As Representative of the several Underwriters
c/o JEFFERIES LLC
520 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Introductory. Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), proposes, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this agreement (this “Agreement”), to issue and sell to the several underwriters named in Schedule A (the “Underwriters”) an aggregate of 20,000,000 units of the Company (the “Units”). The 20,000,000 Units to be sold by the Company are called the “Firm Securities.” In addition, the Company has granted to the Underwriters an option to purchase up to an additional 3,000,000 Units as provided in Section 2 hereof. The additional 3,000,000 Units to be sold by the Company pursuant to such option are collectively called the “Optional Securities.” The Firm Securities and, if and to the extent such option is exercised, the Optional Securities are collectively called the “Offered Securities.” Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”) has agreed to act as representative of the several Underwriters (in such capacity, the “Representative”) in connection with the offering of the Offered Securities for sale to the public as contemplated in the IPO Prospectus (as defined below) (the “Offering”). To the extent there are no additional underwriters listed on Schedule A, the term “Representative” as used herein shall mean you, as Underwriter, and the term “Underwriters” shall mean either the singular or the plural, as the context requires.
Each Unit consists of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (“Class A Ordinary Shares”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant, where each whole warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share (the “Public Warrant(s)”). The Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants included in the Units will not trade separately until the 52nd day following the date of the IPO Prospectus (as defined below) (unless the Representative informs the Company of its decision to allow earlier separate trading), subject to (a) the Company’s preparation of an audited balance sheet reflecting the receipt by the Company of the proceeds of the Offering, (b) the filing by the Company of such audited balance sheet with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on a Current Report on Form 8-K that includes such audited balance sheet, and (c) the Company having issued a press release announcing when such separate trading will begin. Each whole Public Warrant entitles its holder, upon exercise, to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share for $11.50 per share during the period commencing on the later of 30 days after the completion of an initial Business Combination (as defined below) and 12 months from the date of the closing of the Offering and terminating on the five-year anniversary of the date of the completion of such initial Business Combination (as defined below) or earlier upon redemption or liquidation; provided, however, that pursuant to the Warrant Agreement (as defined below), only a whole Public Warrant may be exercised at any given time by a holder thereof. As used herein, the term “Business Combination” (as described more fully in the Registration Statement (as defined below)) shall mean a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination involving the Company and one or more businesses.
The Company has prepared and filed with the Commission a registration statement on Form S-1, File No. 333-249066 which contains a form of prospectus to be used in connection with the Offering and sale of the Offered Securities. Such registration statement, as amended, including the financial statements, exhibits and schedules thereto, in the form in which it became effective under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), including any information deemed to be a part thereof at the time of effectiveness pursuant to Rule 430A under the Securities Act, is called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed by the Company pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act in connection with the offer and sale of the Offered Securities is called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement,” and from and after the date and time of filing of any such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The prospectus, in the form first used by the Underwriters to confirm sales of the Offered Securities or in the form first made available to the Underwriters by the Company to meet requests of purchasers pursuant to Rule 173 under the Securities Act, is called the “IPO Prospectus.” The preliminary prospectus dated [__], 2020 describing the Offered Securities and the Offering thereof is called the “Preliminary Prospectus,” and the Preliminary Prospectus and any other prospectus in preliminary form that describes the Offered Securities and the Offering thereof and is used prior to the filing of the IPO Prospectus is called a “preliminary prospectus.” As used herein, “Applicable Time” is [__] p.m. (New York City time) on [__], 2020 and “Effective Date” means the date and time at which the Registration Statement, or the most recent post-effective amendment thereto, was declared effective by the Commission in accordance with the rules and regulations under the Securities Act. As used herein, “free writing prospectus” has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, and “Time of Sale Prospectus” means the Preliminary Prospectus together with the Time of Delivery Information, if any, set forth on Schedule B hereto. As used herein, “Road Show” means a “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act) relating to the Offering contemplated hereby that is a “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act). As used herein, “Section 5(d) Written Communication” means each written communication (within the meaning of Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that is made in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act by the Company or any person authorized to act on behalf of the Company to one or more potential investors that are qualified institutional buyers (“QIBs”) and/or institutions that are accredited investors (“IAIs”), as such terms are respectively defined in Rule 144A and Rule 501(a) under the Securities Act, to determine whether such investors might have an interest in the Offering; “Section 5(d) Oral Communication” means each oral communication, if any, made in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act by the Company or any person authorized to act on behalf of the Company made to one or more QIBs and/or one or more IAIs to determine whether such investors might have an interest in the Offering; “Marketing Materials” means any materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the Offering, including any Road Show or investor presentations made to investors by the Company (whether in person or electronically); and “Permitted Section 5(d) Communication” means the Section 5(d) Written Communication(s) and Marketing Materials listed on Schedule C attached hereto.
All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus (including the Preliminary Prospectus), or the IPO Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements to any of the foregoing shall include any copy thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).
On July 29, 2020, the Company was incorporated as Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company.
On July 30, 2020, the Company issued 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares (the “Founder Shares”) to Genesis Park Holdings (the “Sponsor”) for aggregate consideration of $25,000 pursuant to a Securities Subscription Agreement, dated as of July 30, 2020 (the “Subscription Agreement”), in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.5 to the Registration Statement.
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Up to 750,000 of the Founder Shares are subject to forfeiture depending on the extent to which the Underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, the Founder Shares have the same terms as the Class A Ordinary Shares.
On the date hereof, the Sponsor and Jefferies, one of the underwriters in the Offering, subscribed to purchase an aggregate of 6,000,000 private placement warrants (or up to an aggregate of 6,600,000 private placement warrants if the option to purchase additional Units as provided in Section 2 herein is exercised in full), each such private placement warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share at an exercise price of $11.50 (the “Private Placement Warrants”) and the Company entered into a Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement with each of the Sponsor (the “Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement”) and Jefferies (the “Jefferies Warrants Purchase Agreement, and together with the Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement, the “Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements”) in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.6 and Exhibit 10.7 to the Registration Statement, respectively. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, the Private Placement Warrants have the same terms as the Public Warrants.
The Company has entered into an Investment Management Trust Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (“CST”), as trustee, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.3 to the Registration Statement (the “Trust Agreement”), pursuant to which the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and certain proceeds of the Offering and sale of the Offered Securities will be deposited and held in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) for the benefit of the Company, the Underwriters and the Public Shareholders (as defined below).
The Company has entered into a Warrant Agreement, effective as of the date hereof, with respect to the Public Warrants, the Private Placement Warrants and any warrants issued upon the conversion of working capital loans by the Sponsor, the Company’s officers and directors, or their respective affiliates, to the Company (the “Working Capital Warrants”) with CST, as warrant agent, in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 4.4 to the Registration Statement (the “Warrant Agreement”), pursuant to which CST will act as warrant agent in connection with the issuance, registration, transfer, exchange, redemption, and exercise of the Public Warrants, the Private Placement Warrants and the Working Capital Warrants.
The Company has entered into a Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, dated as of the date hereof, with the Sponsor, Jefferies and the other parties thereto in substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.4 to the Registration Statement (the “Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company has granted certain registration rights in respect of (i) the Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon conversion of the Founder Shares, (ii) the Private Placement Warrants, (iii) the Working Capital Warrants, (iv) the Units purchased by Genesis Park II, LP (“Genesis Park”) in the Offering and the Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants comprising such Units and (v) the Class A Ordinary Shares underlying the Private Placement Warrants, the Working Capital Warrants and such Public Warrants.
The Company has caused to be duly executed and delivered a letter agreement, dated as of the date hereof, by and among the Sponsor and each of the Company’s officers, directors and director nominees substantially the form filed as Exhibit 10.1 to the Registration Statement (the “Insider Letter”).
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The Company hereby confirms its agreements with the Underwriters as follows:
Section 1. Representations and Warranties of the Company.
The Company hereby represents, warrants and covenants to each Underwriter, as of the date of this Agreement, as of the First Closing Date (as hereinafter defined) and as of each Option Closing Date (as hereinafter defined), if any, as follows:
(a) Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities Act. The Company has complied, to the Commission’s satisfaction, with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information, if any. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the Commission.
(b) Disclosure. Each preliminary prospectus and the IPO Prospectus when filed complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and, if filed by electronic transmission pursuant to EDGAR, was identical (except as may be permitted by Regulation S-T under the Securities Act) to the copy thereof delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offer and sale of the Offered Securities. Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became or becomes effective, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. As of the Applicable Time, the Time of Sale Prospectus did not, and at the First Closing Date (as defined in Section 2 below) and at each applicable Option Closing Date (as defined in Section 2 below), will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The IPO Prospectus, as of its date, did not, and at the First Closing Date and at each applicable Option Closing Date, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the three immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the IPO Prospectus or the Time of Sale Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by the Representative expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described in Section 8(b) below. There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus or to be filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required.
(c) Free Writing Prospectuses; Road Show. As of the determination date referenced in Rule 164(h) under the Securities Act and as of the date hereof, the Company was and is an “ineligible issuer” in connection with the Offering pursuant to Rules 164, 405 and 433 under the Securities Act. The Company has not prepared, used or referred to, and will not, without your prior written consent, prepare, use or refer to, any free writing prospectus. Each Road Show, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, did not, as of the Applicable Time, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representation and warranty set forth in the immediately preceding sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from the Time of Sale Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by the Representative expressly for use therein, it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described in Section 8(b) below
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(d) Distribution of Offering Material by the Company. Prior to the later of (i) the expiration or termination of the option granted to the several Underwriters in Section 2 below, (ii) the completion of the Underwriters’ distribution of the Offered Securities and (iii) the expiration of 25 days after the date of the IPO Prospectus, the Company has not distributed and will not distribute any offering material in connection with the Offering and sale of the Offered Securities other than the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the IPO Prospectus and any Permitted Section 5(d) Communications.
(e) The Underwriting Agreement. This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.
(f) Filing of a Form 8-A. The Company has filed with the Commission a Form 8-A (file number 001-[__]) providing for the registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”) of certain of the securities of the Company, which registration is currently effective on the date hereof.
(g) Stock Exchange Listing. The Offered Securities, Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants have been approved for listing on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”), subject only to official notice of issuance.
(h) No Integration. Neither the Company nor any of its affiliates has, prior to the date hereof, made any offer or sale of any securities that are required to be “integrated” pursuant to the Securities Act with the offer and sale of the Offered Securities pursuant to the Registration Statement.
(i) Authorization of the Private Placement Warrants. The Private Placement Warrants have been duly authorized by the Company and, when issued and delivered in the manner set forth in the Warrant Agreement and the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements against payment therefor, will be duly issued and delivered and will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(j) Authorization of the Founder Shares. The Founder Shares are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
(k) Authorization of the Offered Securities. The Offered Securities have been duly authorized for issuance and sale pursuant to this Agreement and, when issued and delivered by the Company (by the entry of the name of the registered owner thereof in the register of members of the Company confirming that such securities have been issued credited as fully paid) against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability, and the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities is not subject to any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase the Offered Securities.
(l) Authorization of the Class A Ordinary Shares. The Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Units have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered (by the entry of the name of the registered owner thereof in the register of members of the Company confirming that such securities have been issued credited as fully paid) against payment for the Offered Securities by the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable and free of preemptive rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights.
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(m) Authorization of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants have been duly authorized by the Company and, when issued and delivered in the manner set forth in the Warrant Agreement against payment for the Offered Securities by the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly issued and delivered, and will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(n) Authorization of the Class A Ordinary Shares Issuable Upon Exercise of the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants. The Class A Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon exercise thereof and, when issued and delivered (by the entry of the name of the registered owner thereof in the register of members of the Company confirming that such securities have been issued credited as fully paid) against payment therefor pursuant to the Public Warrants and the Private Placement Warrants, as applicable, and the Warrant Agreement, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. The holders of such Class A Ordinary Shares will not be subject to personal liability by reason of being such holders; such Class A Ordinary Shares will not be subject to any preemptive right, right of first refusal or other similar contractual rights granted by the Company; and all corporate action required to be taken for the authorization, issuance and sale of such Class A Ordinary Shares (other than such execution (if applicable), countersignature (if applicable) and delivery at the time of issuance) has been duly and validly taken.
(o) The Trust Agreement. The Trust Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company, in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(p) The Warrant Agreement. The Warrant Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(q) The Subscription Agreement. The Subscription Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Sponsor and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company and the Sponsor, enforceable against the Company and the Sponsor in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(r) The Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements. (i) The Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and the Sponsor and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company and the Sponsor enforceable against the Company and the Sponsor in accordance with its terms and (ii) the Jefferies Warrants Purchase Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, assuming due execution and delivery of the Jefferies Warrants Purchase Agreement by Jefferies, is a valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, in each case, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(s) The Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement. The Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
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(t) The Insider Letter. The Insider Letter has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company, the Sponsor and, to the knowledge of the Company, each executive officer, director and director nominee of the Company, respectively, and is a valid and binding agreement of the Company, the Sponsor and, to the knowledge of the Company, each such executive officer, director and director nominee, respectively, enforceable against the Company, the Sponsor and, to the knowledge of the Company, each executive officer, director and director nominee, respectively, in accordance with its terms, except as the enforceability thereof may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, or similar laws affecting creditors’ rights generally from time to time in effect and by equitable principles of general applicability.
(u) No Material Adverse Change. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus: (i) there has been no material adverse change, or any development that could be reasonably expected to result in a material adverse change, in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects, whether or not arising from transactions in the ordinary course of business of the Company (any such change being referred to herein as a “Material Adverse Change”); and (ii) the Company has not incurred any material liability or obligation, indirect, direct or contingent, including without limitation any losses or interference with its business from fire, explosion, flood, earthquakes, accident or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any strike, labor dispute or court or governmental action, order or decree, that are material, individually or in the aggregate, to the Company, or has entered into any transactions not in the ordinary course of business.
(v) No Applicable Registration or Other Similar Rights. There are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have equity or debt securities registered for sale under the Registration Statement or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement.
(w) Independent Accountants. WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“Withum”), who has certified certain financial statements of the Company and delivered their report with respect to the audited financial statements (which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto and the supporting schedules, if any) filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, is (i) a registered public accounting firm that is independent with respect to the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act and the applicable published rules and regulations thereunder and the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”), (ii) in compliance with the applicable requirements relating to the qualification of accountants under Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X under the Securities Act and (iii) a registered public accounting firm as defined by the PCAOB whose registration has not been suspended or revoked and who has not requested such registration to be withdrawn.
(x) Financial Statements. The financial statements, including the notes thereto and the supporting schedules, if any, filed with the Commission as a part of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus present fairly the financial position of the Company as of the dates indicated and the results of the Company’s operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the periods specified. Such financial statements and supporting schedules, if any, have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles as applied in the United States applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus. The financial data set forth in each of the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus under the captions “Summary—Summary Financial Data” and “Capitalization” fairly present the information set forth therein
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on a basis consistent with that of the audited financial statements contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus. There are no pro forma or as adjusted financial statements that are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus in accordance with Regulation S-X that have not been included as so required.
(y) Disclosure Controls and Procedures; Deficiencies in or Changes to Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. The Company maintains “disclosure controls and procedures” as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act, to the extent required by such rule.
(z) Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Solely to the extent that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Commission and the NYSE thereunder (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) have been applicable to the Company, there is and has been no failure on the part of the Company to comply in all material respects with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that it is in compliance with all provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that are in effect and with which the Company is required to comply.
(aa) Compliance with NYSE Rules. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s officers or directors, in their capacities as such, to comply with (as and when applicable), and immediately following the Effective Date, the Company will be in compliance with, NYSE Listed Company Manual Section 303A. Further, there is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of the Company’s officers or directors, in their capacities as such, to comply with (as and when applicable), and immediately following the Effective Date, the Company will be in compliance with, the phase-in requirements and all other provisions of the NYSE corporate governance requirements set forth in the NYSE Listed Company Manual.
(bb) No Fees Related to this Agreement or the Offering of Offered Securities. There are no transfer, stamp, issue, registration, documentary or other similar taxes, duties, fees or charges under U.S. federal law or the laws of any state, or any political subdivision thereof, or under the laws of any non-U.S. jurisdiction, required to be paid in connection with the execution and delivery of this Agreement or the issuance or sale by the Company of the Offered Securities.
(cc) Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as an exempted company in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and has the corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Trust Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, the Subscription Agreement, the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement and the Insider Letter and to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. The Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to so qualify would not reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, earnings, business, properties, operations, assets, liabilities or prospects of the Company (a “Material Adverse Effect”).
(dd) Interests in Other Entities. The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, an interest in any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint venture, trust or other entity.
(ee) Capitalization and Other Share Capital Matters. The authorized, issued and outstanding share capital of the Company is as set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus under the caption “Capitalization” (other than for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to employee benefit plans, or upon the exercise of outstanding options or warrants, in each case described in the Registration Statement). The share capital of the Company conforms in all material respects to the
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description thereof in the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Registration Statement and the IPO Prospectus. All of the issued and outstanding securities of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and have been issued in compliance with all federal and state securities laws, based in part on the representations and warranties of the purchasers of such securities. None of the outstanding securities was issued in violation of any preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company. There are no authorized or outstanding options, warrants, preemptive rights, rights of first refusal or other rights to purchase, or equity or debt securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, any share capital of the Company other than those described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus.
(ff) Sale of Securities of the Company. No securities of the Company have been sold by the Company or by or on behalf of, or for the benefit of, any person or persons controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Company from its inception through and including the date hereof, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus.
(gg) “Penny Stock” Securities. Upon delivery and payment for the Units on the First Closing Date and any Option Closing Dates, the Company will not be subject to Rule 419 under the Securities Act and none of the Company’s outstanding securities will be deemed to be a “penny stock” as defined in Rule 3a51-1 under the Exchange Act.
(hh) Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments; No Further Authorizations or Approvals Required. The Company is not in violation of its memorandum and articles of association and, as of the First Closing Date, will not be in violation of its amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (as the same may be amended from time to time, the “Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association”), and is not in default (or, with the giving of notice or lapse of time, would not be in default) (“Default”) under any indenture, loan, credit agreement, note, lease, license agreement, contract, franchise or other instrument (including, without limitation, any pledge agreement, security agreement, mortgage or other instrument or agreement evidencing, guaranteeing, securing or relating to indebtedness) to which the Company is a party or by which it may be bound, or to which any of the Company’s properties or assets are subject (each, an “Existing Instrument”), except for such Defaults as could not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Trust Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, the Subscription Agreement, the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement or the Insider Letter, consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and by the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus and the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities (including the use of proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) (i) have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and will not result in any violation of the provisions of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (ii) will not conflict with or constitute a breach of, or Default or a Debt Repayment Triggering Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to, or require the consent of any other party to, any Existing Instrument and (iii) will not result in any violation of any law, administrative regulation or administrative or court decree applicable to the Company. No consent, approval, authorization or other order of, or registration or filing with, any court or other governmental or regulatory authority or agency, is required for the Company’s execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Trust Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, the Subscription Agreement, the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement or the Insider Letter and consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby and by the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, except such as have been obtained or made by the Company and are in full force and effect under the Securities Act or Exchange Act and such as may be required under applicable state securities or blue sky laws or the Financial Industry
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Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”). As used herein, a “Debt Repayment Triggering Event” means any event or condition which gives, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time would give, the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company.
(ii) Compliance with Laws. The Company has been and is in compliance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, except where failure to be so in compliance could not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(jj) No Material Actions or Proceedings. There is no action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation brought by or before any governmental entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or the Sponsor, which could be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Trust Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, the Subscription Agreement, the Sponsor Warrants Purchase Agreement, the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, or the Insider Letter or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder.
(kk) All Necessary Permits, etc. The Company possesses such valid and current certificates, authorizations or permits required by state, federal or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies to conduct its business as currently conducted and as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus (“Permits”). The Company is not in violation of, or in default under, any of the Permits, except for such defaults or violations as could not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, and has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of, or non-compliance with, any of the Permits that, individually or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(ll) Title to Properties. The Company owns or leases all such properties as are necessary to the conduct of its operations as presently conducted.
(mm) Tax Law Compliance. The Company has filed all necessary federal, state and foreign income and franchise tax returns or has properly requested extensions thereof (except in any case in which the failure to so file would not have a Material Adverse Effect) through the date hereof and has paid all taxes required to be paid by it and, if due and payable, any related or similar assessment, fine or penalty levied against it except as is currently being, or may be, contested in good faith and by appropriate proceedings and for which adequate reserves required by generally accepted accounting principles have been created with respect thereto or as would not be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(nn) ERISA Compliance. The Company has not established or maintained any “employee benefit plan” (as defined under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”)), and thus is not subject to ERISA.
(oo) Company Not an “Investment Company.” The Company is not, and will not be, either after receipt of payment for the Offered Securities or after the application of the proceeds therefrom as described under “Use of Proceeds” in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus, required to register as an “investment company” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”).
(pp) No Price Stabilization or Manipulation; Compliance with Regulation M. None of the Company, the Sponsor, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any of their respective officers or directors, has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Securities or otherwise, which would directly or indirectly violate Regulation M under the Exchange Act (“Regulation M”).
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(qq) Related-Party Transactions. There are no business relationships or related-party transactions involving the Company or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus that have not been described as required.
(rr) FINRA Matters. All of the information provided to the Underwriters or to counsel for the Underwriters by the Company, the Sponsor or, to the knowledge of the Company, its counsel, its officers, directors, director nominees, and the other holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with the Offering is true, complete and correct in all material respects.
(ss) Statistical and Market-Related Data. All statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably and in good faith believes to be reliable and accurate. To the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(tt) No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments. Neither the Company nor the Sponsor, nor to the Company’s knowledge, any employee or agent of the Company, has made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any applicable federal, state or foreign office in violation of any law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus.
(uu) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, the Sponsor, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, director nominee, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company, has, in the course of its, his or her actions for, or on behalf of, the Company (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expenses relating to political activity; (ii) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any domestic government official, “foreign official” (as defined in the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “FCPA”)) or employee from corporate funds; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the FCPA or the OECD Convention on Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions; or (iv) made any unlawful bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment to any domestic government official, such foreign official or employee; and the Company, the Sponsor, and, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s affiliates have conducted the business of the Company and their respective businesses on behalf of the Company in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(vv) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and the Sponsor have been conducted at all times, in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions where the Company conducts business, the applicable rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar applicable rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.
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(ww) Sanctions. None of the Company, the Sponsor, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, director nominee, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company is currently subject to any U.S. sanctions administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of this Offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, or any joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing the activities of or business with any person, or in any country or territory, that currently is subject to any Sanctions or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of such Sanctions.
(xx) Brokers. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, there is no broker, finder or other party that is entitled to receive from the Company any brokerage or finder’s fee or other fee or commission as a result of any transactions contemplated by this Agreement.
(yy) Cybersecurity. The Company’s information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company as currently conducted and, to the knowledge of the Company, are free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants. The Company has implemented and maintained commercially reasonable physical, technical and administrative controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect its material confidential information and the integrity, operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data, including “Personal Data,” used in connection with their businesses. “Personal Data” means: (i) a natural person’s name, street address, telephone number, e-mail address, photograph, social security number or tax identification number, driver’s license number, passport number, credit card number, bank information, or customer or account number; (ii) any information which would qualify as “personally identifying information” under the Federal Trade Commission Act, as amended; (iii) “personal data” as defined by the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) (EU 2016/679); and (iv) any other piece of information that allows the identification of such natural person, or his or her family, or permits the collection or analysis of any data related to an identified person’s health or sexual orientation. To the knowledge of the Company, there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same, except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same. The Company is presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification.
(zz) Emerging Growth Company Status. From the time of the initial confidential submission of the Registration Statement to the Commission (or, if earlier, the first date on which the Company engaged in any Section 5(d) Written Communication or any Section 5(d) Oral Communication) through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).
(aaa) Communications with Potential Business Combination Targets. Prior to the date hereof, neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf has, and as of the First Closing Date, neither the Company nor anyone on its behalf will have, selected any Business Combination target or initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any Business Combination target.
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(bbb) Communications. The Company (i) has not alone engaged in communications with potential investors in reliance on Section 5(d) of the Securities Act other than Permitted Section 5(d) Communications with the consent of the Representative with entities that are QIBs or IAIs and (ii) has not authorized anyone other than the Representative to engage in such communications; the Company reconfirms that the Representative has been authorized to act on its behalf in undertaking Marketing Materials, Section 5(d) Oral Communications and Section 5(d) Written Communications; as of the Applicable Time, each Permitted Section 5(d) Communication, when considered together with the Time of Sale Prospectus, did not, as of the Applicable Time, include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; and each Permitted Section 5(d) Communication, if any, does not, as of the date hereof, conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus and the Company has filed publicly on EDGAR at least 15 calendar days prior to any “road show” (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act), any confidentially submitted registration statement and registration statement amendments relating to the offer and sale of the Offered Securities.
Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Representative or to counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the Offering, or the purchase and sale of the Offered Securities shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
The Company has a reasonable basis for making each of the representations set forth in this Section 1. For purposes of the representations set forth in this Section 1, “knowledge” refers to the knowledge of any officer of the Company, whether acquired in the course of such officer’s duties to the Company or otherwise. The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 5 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to the Underwriters, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.
Section 2. Purchase, Sale and Delivery of the Offered Securities.
(a) The Firm Securities. Upon the terms herein set forth, the Company agrees to issue and sell to the several Underwriters an aggregate of 20,000,000 Units. On the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, and upon the terms but subject to the conditions herein set forth, the Underwriters agree, severally and not jointly, to purchase from the Company the respective number of Firm Securities set forth opposite their names on Schedule A. The purchase price per Unit to be paid by the several Underwriters to the Company (the “Purchase Price”) shall be $9.80 per Unit set forth opposite the name of such Underwriter in Column A of Schedule A.
(b) The First Closing Date. Delivery of the Firm Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters and payment therefor shall be made at 9:00 a.m. New York City time, on [__], 2020, or such other time and date not later than 1:30 p.m. New York City time on [__], 2020 as the Representative shall designate by notice to the Company (the time and date of such closing are called the “First Closing Date”). The Company hereby acknowledges that circumstances under which the Representative may provide notice to postpone the First Closing Date as originally scheduled include, but are not limited to, any determination by the Company or the Representative to recirculate to the public copies of an amended or supplemented IPO Prospectus or a delay as contemplated by the provisions of Section 10 hereof. Delivery of the Firm Securities shall be made through the facilities of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) unless the Representative shall otherwise instruct.
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(c) The Optional Securities; Option Closing Date. In addition, on the basis of the representations, warranties and agreements herein contained, and upon the terms but subject to the conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the several Underwriters to purchase, severally and not jointly, up to an aggregate of 3,000,000 Units from the Company at the purchase price per Unit to be paid by the Underwriters for the Firm Securities. The option granted hereunder may be exercised at any time and from time to time in whole or in part upon notice by the Representative to the Company, which notice may be given at any time within 45 days from the date of this Agreement. Such notice shall set forth (i) the aggregate number of Optional Securities as to which the Underwriters are exercising the option and (ii) the time, date and place at which the Optional Securities will be delivered (which time and date may be simultaneous with, but not earlier than, the First Closing Date; and in the event that such time and date are simultaneous with the First Closing Date, the term “First Closing Date” shall refer to the time and date of delivery of the Firm Securities and such Optional Securities). Any such time and date of delivery, if subsequent to the First Closing Date, is called an “Option Closing Date,” shall be determined by the Representative and shall not be earlier than two or later than five full business days after delivery of such notice of exercise. If any Optional Securities are to be purchased, each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to purchase the number of Optional Securities (subject to such adjustments to eliminate fractional shares as the Representative may determine) that bears the same proportion to the total number of Optional Securities to be purchased as the number of Firm Securities set forth on Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Firm Securities. The Representative may cancel the option at any time prior to its expiration by giving written notice of such cancellation to the Company.
(d) Public Offering of the Offered Securities. The Representative hereby advises the Company that the Underwriters intend to offer for sale to the public, on the terms set forth in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus, their respective portions of the Offered Securities as soon after this Agreement has been executed and the Registration Statement has been declared effective as the Representative, in its sole judgment, has determined is advisable and practicable.
(e) Delivery and Payment for the Offered Securities. In addition to the discount from the public offering price represented by the Purchase Price set forth in the last sentence of Section 2(a) of this Agreement, the Company hereby agrees to pay to the Underwriters a deferred discount of $0.35 per Unit (including both Firm Securities and Optional Securities) purchased hereunder, other than Units listed in Column A-2 of Schedule A hereto (the “Deferred Discount”). The Underwriters hereby agree that if no Business Combination is consummated within the time period provided in the Trust Agreement and the funds held under the Trust Agreement are distributed to the holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Offered Securities sold pursuant to this Agreement (the “Public Shareholders”), (x) the Underwriters will forfeit any rights or claims to the Deferred Discount and (y) the trustee under the Trust Agreement is authorized to distribute the Deferred Discount to the Public Shareholders on a pro rata basis.
(i) It is understood that the Representative has been authorized, for its own account and the accounts of the several Underwriters, to accept delivery of and receipt for, and make payment by wire transfer payable in same-day funds to an account specified by the Company and to the Trust Account as described below in this Section of the purchase price for, the Firm Securities and any Optional Securities the Underwriters have agreed to purchase. Jefferies, individually and not as the Representative of the Underwriters, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment for any Offered Securities to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds shall not have been received by the Representative by the First Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be, for the account of such Underwriter, but any such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from any of its obligations under this Agreement.
(ii) Payment for the Firm Securities shall be made as follows: The net proceeds for the Firm Securities (including the Deferred Discount) shall be deposited in the Trust Account pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement along with such portion of the gross proceeds of the sale of the Private Placement Warrants in order for the Trust Account to equal the product of the number of Units sold and the public offering price per Unit as set forth on the cover of the IPO Prospectus upon delivery to the Representative of the Firm Securities through the facilities of DTC or, if the Representative has otherwise
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instructed, upon delivery to the Representative of certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative) representing the Firm Securities, in each case for the account of the Underwriters. The Firm Securities shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representative may request in writing at least two business days prior to the First Closing Date. If delivery is not made through the facilities of DTC, the Company will permit the Representative to examine and package the Firm Securities for delivery, at least one business day prior to the First Closing Date at a location in New York City as the Representative may designate. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Firm Securities except upon tender of payment by the Representative for all the Firm Securities. 1
(iii) Payment for the Optional Securities shall be made as follows: the Purchase Price (including any Deferred Discount attributable to the Optional Securities) shall be deposited in the Trust Account pursuant to the terms of the Trust Agreement upon delivery to the Representative of the Optional Securities through the facilities of DTC or, if the Representative has otherwise instructed, upon delivery to the Representative of certificates (in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative) representing the Optional Securities for the account of the Underwriters. The Optional Securities shall be registered in such name or names and in such authorized denominations as the Representative may request in writing at least two business days prior to the Option Closing Date. If delivery is not made through the facilities of DTC, the Company will permit the Representative to examine and package the Optional Securities for delivery, at least one business day prior to the Option Closing Date. The Company shall not be obligated to sell or deliver the Optional Securities except upon tender of payment by the Representative for all the Optional Securities.
Section 3. Additional Covenants of the Company.
The Company further covenants and agrees with each Underwriter as follows:
(a) Delivery of Registration Statement, Time of Sale Prospectus and IPO Prospectus. The Company shall furnish to you in New York City, without charge, prior to 10:00 a.m. New York City time on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and during the period when a prospectus relating to the Offered Securities is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) in connection with sales of the Offered Securities, as many copies of the Time of Sale Prospectus, the IPO Prospectus and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as you may reasonably request.
(b) Representative’s Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements. During the period when a prospectus relating to the Offered Securities is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule), the Company (i) will furnish to the Representative for review, a reasonable period of time prior to the proposed time of filing of any proposed amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement, a copy of each such amendment or supplement and (ii) will not amend or supplement the Registration Statement without the Representative’s prior written consent. Prior to amending or supplementing any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus, the Company shall furnish to the Representative for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the time of filing or use of the proposed amendment or supplement, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement. The Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without the Representative’s prior written consent. The Company shall file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such rule.
| 1 | NTD: Per the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements, the Sponsor and Jefferies (not the Company) are obligated to pay the purchase price for the private placement warrants directly into the trust account. |
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(c) Free Writing Prospectuses. The Company will not make any offer relating to the Units that constitutes or would constitute a free writing prospectus or a portion thereof required to be filed by the Company with the Commission or retained by the Company under Rule 433 of the Securities Act.
(d) Amendments and Supplements to Time of Sale Prospectus. If the Time of Sale Prospectus is being used to solicit offers to buy the Offered Securities at a time when the IPO Prospectus is not yet available to prospective purchasers, and any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the Time of Sale Prospectus does not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when delivered to a prospective purchaser, not misleading, or if any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus conflicts with the information contained in the Registration Statement, or if it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the rules thereunder, the Company shall (subject to Section 3(b) and Section 3(e) hereof) promptly prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when delivered to a prospective purchaser, not misleading or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will no longer conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement, or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with the Securities Act and the rules thereunder.
(e) Certain Notifications and Required Actions. After the date of this Agreement, the Company shall promptly advise the Representative in writing of: (i) the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information from, the Commission; (ii) the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, or the IPO Prospectus; (iii) the time and date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective; and (iv) the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto or any amendment or supplement to any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, or the IPO Prospectus, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the Units from any securities exchange upon which they are listed for trading or included or designated for quotation, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes. If, at any time, the Commission shall enter any such stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement in connection with the Offering or the sales of the Units and, if applicable, the Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants underlying the Units, the Company will use its best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment. Additionally, the Company agrees that it shall comply with all applicable provisions of Rule 424(b), Rule 433 and Rule 430A under the Securities Act and will use its reasonable efforts to confirm that any filings made by the Company under Rule 424(b) or Rule 433 were received in a timely manner by the Commission.
(f) Amendments and Supplements to the IPO Prospectus and Other Securities Act Matters. If any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the IPO Prospectus so that the IPO Prospectus does not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the IPO Prospectus is delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) to a purchaser, not misleading, or it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement the IPO Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act or the rules thereunder, the Company agrees (subject to Section 3(b) and Section 3(e) hereof) to promptly prepare, file with the Commission and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to any dealer upon request, amendments or supplements
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to the IPO Prospectus so that the statements in the IPO Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the IPO Prospectus is delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) to a purchaser, not misleading or so that the IPO Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with the Securities Act and the rules thereunder. Neither the Representative’s consent to, nor delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the Company’s obligations under Section 3(b) or Section 3(e) hereof.
(g) Blue Sky Compliance. The Company shall cooperate with the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters to qualify or register the Offered Securities for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application thereof, including by the listing on a national securities exchange such as the NYSE) the state securities or blue sky laws or Canadian provincial securities laws of those jurisdictions designated by the Representative, shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Offered Securities. The Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general service of process in any such jurisdiction where it is not presently qualified or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign corporation. The Company will advise the Representative promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any such exemption relating to) the Offered Securities for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(h) Use of Proceeds. The Company shall apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Offered Securities and the Private Placement Warrants sold by it in a manner consistent in all material respects with the applications described under the caption “Use of Proceeds” in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus.
(i) Transfer and Warrant Agent. For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending at least five years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the distributions of the Trust Account to the Public Shareholders in connection with the redemption of Class A Ordinary Shares held by the Public Shareholders pursuant to the terms of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, if the Company fails to consummate a Business Combination (the “Liquidation”) occurs or the Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants cease to be registered under the Exchange Act, the Company shall retain a transfer and warrant agent.
(j) Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders and to the Representative as soon as practicable an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a period of at least 12 months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company commencing after the date of this Agreement that will satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
(k) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will comply with the Securities Act and the Exchange Act so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Offered Securities as contemplated by this Agreement, the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company will, during the period when a prospectus relating to the Offered Securities is required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule), file on a timely basis with the Commission and the NYSE all reports and documents required to be filed under the Exchange Act. Additionally, the Company shall report the use of proceeds from the issuance of the Offered Securities as may be required under Rule 463 under the Securities Act.
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(l) Continued Registration of the Securities of the Company. For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending at least five years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs, the Company will use its best efforts to maintain the registration of the Units (until the consummation of a Business Combination), Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants under the provisions of the Exchange Act, except after giving effect to a going private transaction after the completion of a Business Combination. The Company will not deregister the Units, Class A Ordinary Shares or Public Warrants under the Exchange Act (except in connection with a going private transaction after the completion of a Business Combination) without the prior written consent of the Representative.
(m) Listing. The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to list, subject to notice of issuance, the Units, Class A Ordinary Shares and Public Warrants on the NYSE.
(n) Reservation of Unissued Securities of the Company. The Company will reserve and keep available that maximum number of its authorized but unissued securities that are issuable upon exercise of any of the Public Warrants and Private Placement Warrants outstanding from time to time and the conversion of the Founder Shares.
(o) Agreement Not to Issue Additional Class A Ordinary Shares or Warrants. Prior to the consummation of a Business Combination or the Liquidation, the Company shall not issue any Class A Ordinary Shares, Public Warrants, Private Placement Warrants or any options or other securities convertible into Class A Ordinary Shares, or any preference shares, in each case, that participate in any manner in the Trust Account or that vote as a class with the Class A Ordinary Shares on a Business Combination.
(p) Agreement Not to Offer or Sell Additional Securities of the Company. During the period commencing on and including the date hereof and continuing through and including the 180th day following the date of the IPO Prospectus (such period, as extended as described below, being referred to herein as the “Lock-up Period”), the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representative, (x) offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of (or enter into any transaction that is designed to, or would reasonably be expected to, result in the disposition (whether by actual disposition or effective economic disposition due to cash settlement or otherwise) by the Company or any affiliate of the Company or any person in privity with the Company or any affiliate of the Company), directly or indirectly, including the filing (or participation in the filing) of a registration statement with the Commission in respect of, or establish or increase a put equivalent position or liquidate or decrease a call equivalent position within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act with respect to, any other Units, Class A Ordinary Shares, Public Warrants, Private Placement Warrants or any securities convertible into, or exercisable, or exchangeable for, Class A Ordinary Shares or publicly announce an intention to effect any such transaction during the period commencing on the date hereof and ending 180 days after the date of this Agreement; provided, however, that the Company may (1) issue and sell the Private Placement Warrants, (2) issue and sell the Optional Securities on exercise of the option provided for in Section 2 hereof, (3) register with the Commission pursuant to the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, in accordance with the terms of the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, the resale of the securities covered thereby and (4) issue securities in connection with a Business Combination, or (y) release the Sponsor or any officer, director or director nominee from the 180-day lock-up contained in the Insider Letter.
(q) Investment Limitation. The Company shall not invest or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Offered Securities in such a manner as would require the Company to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.
(r) No Stabilization or Manipulation; Compliance with Regulation M. The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Securities or otherwise in violation of Regulation M, and the Company will comply with all applicable provisions of Regulation M.
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(s) Company to File a Current Report on Form 8-K. The Company shall, on or prior to the date hereof, retain Withum to audit the balance sheet of the Company as of the First Closing Date (the “Audited Balance Sheet”) reflecting the receipt by the Company of the proceeds of the sale of the Offered Securities as set forth in the IPO Prospectus on the First Closing Date. As soon as the Audited Balance Sheet becomes available, the Company shall promptly, but not later than four business days after the First Closing Date, file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission, which report shall contain the Company’s Audited Balance Sheet. Additionally, upon the Company’s receipt of the proceeds from the exercise of all or any portion of the option provided for in Section 2 hereof, the Company shall promptly, but not later than four business days after the receipt of such proceeds, file a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Commission, which report shall disclose the Company’s sale of the Optional Securities and its receipt of the proceeds therefrom, unless the receipt of such proceeds are reflected in the Current Report on Form 8-K referenced in the immediately prior sentence.
(t) Company to Procure Review of Unaudited Quarterly Financial Statements. For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending at least five years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs or the Class A Ordinary Shares and Warrants cease to be publicly traded, the Company, at its expense, shall cause its regularly engaged independent registered public accounting firm to review (but not audit) the Company’s financial statements for each of the first three fiscal quarters prior to the announcement of quarterly financial information, the filing of the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the mailing, if any, of quarterly financial information to shareholders.
(u) Future Reports to the Representative. For a period commencing on the Effective Date and ending at least five years from the date of the consummation of the Business Combination or until such earlier time at which the Liquidation occurs, the Company will furnish to the Representative, c/o Jefferies, at 520 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, Attention: Global Head of Syndicate: (i) as soon as practicable after the end of each fiscal year, copies of the Annual Report of the Company containing the balance sheet of the Company as of the close of such fiscal year and statements of income, shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the year then ended and the opinion thereon of the Company’s independent public or certified public accountants; (ii) as soon as practicable after the filing thereof, copies of each proxy statement, Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, Current Report on Form 8-K or other report filed by the Company with the Commission or any securities exchange; (iii) as soon as available, copies of any report or communication of the Company furnished or made available generally to holders of its share capital; and (iv) such additional documents and information with respect to the Company and the affairs of any future subsidiaries of the Company as the Representative may from time to time reasonably request; provided, however, that the requirements of this Section 3(u) shall be satisfied to the extent that such reports, statement, communications, financial statements or other documents are available on EDGAR.
(v) Amendments and Supplements to Permitted Section 5(d) Communications. If at any time following the distribution of any Permitted Section 5(d) Communication, there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Permitted Section 5(d) Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representative and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Permitted Section 5(d) Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission.
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(w) Emerging Growth Company Status. The Company will promptly notify the Representative if the Company ceases to be an Emerging Growth Company at any time prior to the later of (i) the time when a prospectus relating to the Offered Securities is not required by the Securities Act to be delivered (whether physically or through compliance with Rule 172 under the Securities Act or any similar rule) and (ii) the expiration of the Lock-Up Period.
(x) Announcement of Release or Waiver of the Transfer Restrictions. If the Representative, in its sole discretion, agrees to release or waive the transfer restrictions set forth in any Insider Letter for the Sponsor, an officer, director or director nominee of the Company and provides the Company with notice of the impending release or waiver at least three business days before the effective date of the release or waiver, the Company agrees to announce the impending release or waiver by a press release substantially in the form of Exhibit A hereto through a major news service at least two business days before the effective date of the release or waiver; provided, however, that no such announcement by the Company shall be made of any release or waiver granted solely to permit a transfer of securities that is not for consideration and where the transferee has agreed in writing to be bound by the terms of an Insider Letter.
(y) No Business Combination with Affiliates. The Company will not consummate a Business Combination with any entity that is affiliated with the Sponsor or any of the Company’s officers or directors unless it, or a committee of its independent directors, obtains an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA, or from an independent valuation or accounting firm, that such Business Combination is fair to the Company’s shareholders from a financial point of view; provided that for purposes of this Section 3(y), an entity will not be deemed an affiliate solely by virtue of ownership by the Sponsor or its affiliates, or any of their or the Company’s executive officers or directors, of less than 10% of such entity’s voting securities, individually or in the aggregate. Other than as set forth in this subsection, the Company shall not pay the Sponsor or its affiliates or any of the Company’s executive officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates any fees or compensation for services rendered to the Company prior to, or in connection with, the consummation of a Business Combination; provided, however, that such officers, directors and affiliates (i) may receive reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses incurred by them in connection with identifying, investigating, negotiating and completing a Business Combination; and (ii) may be repaid for loans as described in the Registration Statement.
(z) Consummation of the Initial Business Combination. The Company may consummate the initial Business Combination and conduct redemptions of Class A Ordinary Shares for cash upon consummation of such Business Combination without a shareholder vote pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, including by means of the filing of tender offer documents with the Commission. Such tender offer documents will contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial Business Combination and the redemption rights as is required under the Commission’s proxy rules and will provide each shareholder of the Company with the opportunity prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination to redeem the Class A Ordinary Shares held by such shareholder for an amount of cash per share equal to (A) the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination representing (x) the proceeds held in the Trust Account from the Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and (y) any interest income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and amounts previously released to the Company to pay taxes), divided by (B) the total number of Class A Ordinary Shares sold as part of the Units in the Offering (the “Public Shares”) then outstanding. If, however, the Company elects not to file such tender offer documents, a shareholder vote is required by applicable law in connection with the initial Business Combination, or the Company decides to hold a shareholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will submit such Business Combination to the Company’s shareholders for their approval (“Business Combination Vote”). With respect to the initial Business Combination Vote, if any, the Sponsor and the other parties to the Insider Letter have agreed to vote all of their respective Founder Shares and any other Class A Ordinary Shares purchased by them during or after the Offering in favor of the Company’s initial Business Combination. If
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the Company seeks shareholder approval of the initial Business Combination, the Company will offer to each Public Shareholder holding Class A Ordinary Shares the right to have its shares redeemed in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules of the Commission at a per share redemption price (the “Redemption Price”) equal to (I) the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination representing (1) the proceeds held in the Trust Account from the Offering and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants and (2) any interest income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of any taxes payable and amounts previously released to the Company to pay taxes), divided by (II) the total number of Public Shares then outstanding. If the Company seeks shareholder approval of the initial Business Combination, the Company may proceed with such Business Combination only if the Company obtains the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon who vote at a general meeting. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of the Company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of the Company entitled to vote at such meeting. If, after seeking and receiving such shareholder approval, the Company elects to so proceed, it will redeem shares, at the Redemption Price, from those Public Shareholders who affirmatively requested such redemption. Only Public Shareholders holding Class A Ordinary Shares who properly exercise their redemption rights in accordance with the applicable tender offer or proxy materials related to such Business Combination, shall be entitled to receive distributions from the Trust Account in connection with an initial Business Combination, and the Company shall pay no distributions with respect to any other holders or share capital of the Company in connection therewith. In the event that the Company does not effect a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 10 business days thereafter, redeem 100% of 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 (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay the Company’s dissolution expenses and which interest shall be net of taxes payable and amounts previously released to the Company to pay taxes), 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), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining shareholders and the Company’s board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company’s obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Only Public Shareholders holding Class A Ordinary Shares included in the Offered Securities shall be entitled to receive such redemption amounts and the Company shall pay no such redemption amounts or any distributions in liquidation with respect to any other share capital of the Company. The Sponsor and the Company’s officers, directors and director nominees will not propose any amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association to modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Class A Ordinary Shares upon the consummation of the Business Combination or if the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association or with respect to any other material provisions relating to shareholders’ rights or pre-initial Business Combination activity, as described in Article 49.8 of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association unless the Company offers the right to redeem the Public Shares in connection with such amendment.
(aa) Announcement of the Consummation of the Initial Business Combination. In the event that the Company desires or is required by an applicable law or regulation to cause an announcement (“Business Combination Announcement”) to be placed in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times or any other news or media publication or outlet or to be made via a public filing with the Commission announcing the consummation of the Business Combination that indicates that the Underwriters were the
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underwriters in the Offering, the Company shall supply the Representative with a draft of the Business Combination Announcement and provide the Representative with a reasonable advance opportunity to comment thereon, subject to the agreement of the Underwriters to keep confidential such draft announcement in accordance with the Representative’s standard policies regarding confidential information.
(bb) Payment of Deferred Discount. Upon the consummation of the initial Business Combination, the Company will pay to the Representative, on behalf of the Underwriters, the Deferred Discount. Payment of the Deferred Discount will be made out of the proceeds of the Offering held in the Trust Account, and the Company will instruct CST to transfer the Deferred Discount to the Representative concurrent with any transfer of the funds held in the Trust Account to the Company or any other person. The Underwriters shall have no claim to payment of any interest earned on the portion of the proceeds held in the Trust Account representing the Deferred Discount. If the Company fails to consummate its initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Deferred Discount will not be paid to the Representative and will, instead, be included in the Liquidation distribution of the proceeds held in the Trust Account made to the Public Shareholders. In connection with any such Liquidation, the Underwriters forfeit any rights or claims to the Deferred Discount.
(cc) Cancellation of Founder Shares. Upon the earlier to occur of the expiration or termination of the Underwriters’ over-allotment option, the Company shall cancel or otherwise effect the forfeiture of Founder Shares from the Sponsor in an aggregate amount equal to the number of Founder Shares determined by multiplying (a) 750,000 by (b) a fraction, (i) the numerator of which is 3,000,000 minus the number of Optional Securities purchased by the Underwriters upon the exercise of their over-allotment option, and (ii) the denominator of which is 3,000,000. For the avoidance of doubt, if the Underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full, the Company shall not cancel or otherwise effect the forfeiture of any of the Founder Shares pursuant to this subsection.
(dd) Review of All Payments to the Sponsor. Prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination or the Liquidation, the Company’s audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments made by the Company to the Sponsor, to the Company’s officers or directors, or to the Company’s or any of such other persons’ respective affiliates.
(ee) Compliance with the “Penny Stock” Laws. The Company agrees that it will use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the Company from becoming subject to Rule 419 under the Securities Act prior to the consummation of any Business Combination, including, but not limited to, using its best efforts to prevent any of the Company’s outstanding securities from being deemed to be a “penny stock” as defined in Rule 3a51-1 under the Exchange Act during such period.
(ff) Maintenance of Disclosure Controls, Procedures and Internal Accounting Controls. To the extent required by Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act, the Company will maintain “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined under Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization, (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary in order to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets, (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
(gg) Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. As soon as legally required to do so, the Company and its directors and officers, in their capacities as such, shall take all actions necessary to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including Section 402 related to loans and Sections 302 and 906 related to certifications, and to comply with the rules of the NYSE.
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(hh) Compliance with the Organizational Documents. The Company shall not take any action or omit to take any action that would cause the Company to be in breach or violation of the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association.
(ii) Waiver of Interests to the Funds. Prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, the Company will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm), prospective target businesses and other entities with which it does business execute agreements with it waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account for the benefit of the Public Shareholders. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the Trust Account, the Company’s management will consider whether competitive alternatives are reasonably available to the Company and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed such wavier if the Company’s management believes that such third party’s engagement would be in the best interests of the Company under the circumstances.
(jj) Maintenance of Funds in the Trust Account. During the period prior to the Company’s initial Business Combination or Liquidation, the Company may instruct the trustee under the Trust Agreement to release from the Trust Account funds (i) solely from interest income earned on the funds held in the Trust Account, the amounts necessary to pay taxes and (ii) to Public Shareholders who properly redeem their Public Shares in connection with a vote to approve an amendment to the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of the Public Shares if the Company does not consummate an initial Business Combination within the time period set forth in the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association or (B) with respect to any other material provisions relating to the rights of holders of the Class A Ordinary Shares. Otherwise, all funds held in the Trust Account (including any interest income earned on the amounts held in the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable)) will remain in the Trust Account until the earlier of the consummation of the Company’s initial Business Combination and the Liquidation; provided, however, that in the event of the Liquidation, up to $100,000 of interest income may be released to the Company if the proceeds of the Offering held outside of the Trust Account are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing the Company’s plan of dissolution.
(kk) Notification and Disclosure of Arrangements Relating to a Business Combination. For a period of 90 days following the Effective Date, in the event any person or entity (regardless of any FINRA affiliation or association) is engaged to assist the Company in its search for a merger candidate or to provide any other merger and acquisition services, or has provided or will provide any investment banking, financial, advisory and/or consulting services to the Company, the Company agrees that it shall promptly provide to the Representative and its counsel a notification prior to entering into the agreement or transaction relating to a potential Business Combination: (i) the identity of the person or entity providing any such services; (ii) complete details of all such services and copies of all agreements governing such services prior to entering into the agreement or transaction; and (iii) justification as to why the value received by any person or entity for such services is not underwriting compensation for the Offering. The Company also agrees that proper disclosure of such arrangement or potential arrangement will be made in the tender offer materials or proxy statement, as applicable, which the Company may file in connection with the Business Combination for purposes of offering redemption of shares held by its shareholders or for soliciting shareholder approval, as applicable.
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(ll) FINRA Conflict of Interest. The Company shall advise the Representative and its counsel if it is aware that any 5% or greater shareholder of the Company becomes an affiliate or associated person of a member of FINRA participating in the distribution of the Offered Securities.
The Representative, on behalf of the several Underwriters, may, in its sole discretion, waive in writing the performance by the Company of any one or more of the foregoing covenants or extend the time for their performance.
Section 4. Payment of Expenses. The Company agrees to pay all costs, fees and expenses incurred in connection with the performance of its obligations hereunder and in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including without limitation (i) all expenses incident to the issuance and delivery of the Offered Securities (including all printing and engraving costs, if any), (ii) all fees and expenses of the registrar and transfer agent of the Offered Securities, (iii) all necessary issue, transfer and other stamp taxes in connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) all fees and expenses of the Company’s counsel, independent public or certified public accountants and other advisors, (v) all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the preparation, printing, filing, shipping and distribution of the Registration Statement (including financial statements, exhibits, schedules, consents and certificates of experts), the Time of Sale Prospectus, the IPO Prospectus and each preliminary prospectus, each Permitted Section 5(d) Communication, and all amendments and supplements thereto, and this Agreement, (vi) all filing fees, attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred by the Company or the Underwriters in connection with qualifying or registering (or obtaining exemptions from the qualification or registration of) all or any part of the Offered Securities for offer and sale under the state securities or blue sky laws or the provincial securities laws of Canada, and, if requested by the Representative, preparing and printing a “Blue Sky Survey” or memorandum and a “Canadian wrapper”, and any supplements thereto, advising the Underwriters of such qualifications, registrations and exemptions, as required, (vii) the filing fees incident to, and the fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in an amount not to exceed $25,000 in connection with, the required review by FINRA, (viii) all costs and expenses relating to investor presentations on any Road Show, any Permitted Section 5(d) Communication or any Section 5(d) Oral Communication undertaken in connection with the Offering, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the preparation or dissemination of any electronic Road Show, expenses associated with the production of Road Show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the Road Show presentations, travel, food and lodging expenses associated with Road Show marketing trips, (ix) the fees and expenses associated with listing the Offered Securities on the NYSE, (x) the costs of background checks undertaken by the Underwriters in an amount not to exceed $25,000, (xi) any due diligence meetings, (xii) transfer taxes, if any, and (xiii) all other fees, costs and expenses of the nature referred to in Item 13 of Part II of the Registration Statement; provided that the amount of such costs, fees and expenses for which the Underwriters shall seek reimbursement from the Company under this Section 4 shall not exceed $75,000 in the aggregate (inclusive of FINRA and background checks described above) without the Company’s consent (not to be unreasonably withheld). Except as provided in this Section 4 or in Section 6, Section 8 or Section 9 hereof, the Underwriters shall pay their own expenses, including the fees and disbursements of their counsel.
Section 5. Conditions of the Obligations of the Underwriters. The respective obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder to purchase and pay for the Offered Securities as provided herein on the First Closing Date and, with respect to the Optional Securities, each Option Closing Date, shall be subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties on the part of the Company set forth in Section 1 hereof as of the date hereof and as of the First Closing Date as though then made and, with respect to the Optional Securities, as of each Option Closing Date as though then made, to the timely performance by the Company of its covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to each of the following additional conditions:
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(a) Comfort Letter. On the date hereof, the Representative shall have received from Withum, independent registered public accountants for the Company, a letter dated the date hereof addressed to the Underwriters, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountant’s “comfort letters” to underwriters, delivered according to Statement of Auditing Standards No. 72 (or any successor bulletin), with respect to the audited and unaudited financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus.
(b) Compliance with Registration Requirements; No Stop Order; No Objection from FINRA.
(i) The Company shall have filed the IPO Prospectus with the Commission (including the information required by Rule 430A under the Securities Act) in the manner and within the time period required by Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act.
(ii) No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall be in effect, and no proceedings for such purpose shall have been instituted or threatened by the Commission.
(iii) FINRA shall have raised no objection to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements.
(c) No Prevention or Suspension. No order preventing or suspending the sale of the Units in any jurisdiction designated by the Representative pursuant to Section 3(g) hereof shall have been issued as of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, and no proceedings for that purpose shall have been instituted or shall have been threatened.
(d) No Material Adverse Effect. For the period from and after the date of this Agreement and through and including the First Closing Date and, with respect to any Optional Securities purchased after the First Closing Date, each Option Closing Date, in the judgment of the Representative, there shall not have been any Material Adverse Effect.
(e) Opinion of Counsel for the Company. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, U.S. counsel for the Company, dated as of such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative.
(f) Opinion of Cayman Islands Counsel for the Company. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of Maples and Calder, Cayman Islands counsel for the Company, dated as of such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative.
(g) Opinion of Counsel for the Underwriters. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date the Representative shall have received the opinion of White & Case LLP, counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offer and sale of the Offered Securities, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, dated as of such date, with executed copies for each of the other Underwriters named on the IPO Prospectus cover page.
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(h) Officers’ Certificate. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, the Representative shall have received a certificate executed by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated as of such date, to the effect set forth in Section 5(b)(ii) hereof and further to the effect that:
(i) for the period from and including the date of this Agreement through and including such date, there has been no Material Adverse Effect;
(ii) the representations, warranties, and covenants of the Company set forth in Section 1 of this Agreement are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made on and as of such date; and
(iii) the Company has complied with all the agreements hereunder and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied hereunder at or prior to such date.
(i) Secretary’s Certificate. The Company shall have furnished to the Representative a certificate signed by the Secretary or Assistant Secretary of the Company, dated the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, certifying (i) that the Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association are true and complete, have not been modified and is in full force and effect, (ii) that the resolutions relating to the Offering contemplated by this Agreement are in full force and effect and have not been modified, (iii) copies of all correspondence between the Company or its counsel and the Commission, and (iv) as to the incumbency of the officers of the Company. The documents referred to in such certificate shall be attached to such certificate.
(j) Bring-down Comfort Letter. On each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date the Representative shall have received from Withum, independent registered public accountants for the Company, a letter dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representative, which letter shall: (i) reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished by them pursuant to Section 5(a) hereof, except that the specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than three business days prior to the First Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be; and (ii) cover certain financial information contained in the IPO Prospectus.
(k) Transactional Documents. On or prior to the date hereof, the Company shall have delivered to the Representative executed copies of the Trust Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, the Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreements, the Insider Letter and the Registration and Shareholder Rights Agreement, and each such agreement shall be in full force and effect on each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date. With regard to the Insider Letter, if any additional persons shall become executive officers, directors or director nominees of the Company prior to the end of the Lock-up Period, the Company shall cause each such person, prior to or contemporaneously with their appointment or election as an executive officer, director and director nominee to execute and deliver to the Representative a signature page to the Insider Letter evidencing such person’s entry into, and agreement to be bound by, the Insider Letter as of the date set forth on such signature page.
(l) Deposit to the Trust Account. Each of the Sponsor and Jefferies (at least one business day prior to the date of effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the Option Closing Date, as applicable) shall have caused the purchase price for the Private Placement Warrants to be purchased by each of the Sponsor and Jefferies pursuant to the applicable Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement to be deposited into the Trust Account so that together with the net proceeds for the Firm Securities (including the Deferred Discount), or with respect to the Optional Securities, the net proceeds from the Optional Securities (including the Deferred Discount), the funds deposited into the Trust Account would equal the product of the number of Units sold and the public offering price per Unit as set forth on the cover of the IPO Prospectus.
(m) Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. In the event that a Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is filed in connection with the Offering contemplated by this Agreement, such Rule 462(b) Registration Statement shall have been filed with the Commission on the date of this Agreement and shall have become effective automatically upon such filing.
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(n) Approval of Listing. At the First Closing Date, the Offered Securities shall have been approved for listing on the NYSE, subject only to official notice of issuance.
(o) Additional Documents. On or before each of the First Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters shall have received such information, documents and opinions as they may reasonably request for the purposes of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities as contemplated herein, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations and warranties, or the satisfaction of any of the conditions or agreements, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered Securities as contemplated herein and in connection with the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement shall be reasonably satisfactory in form and substance to the Representative and counsel for the Underwriters.
If any condition specified in this Section 5 is not satisfied when and as required to be satisfied, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representative by notice from the Representative to the Company at any time on or prior to the First Closing Date and, with respect to the Optional Securities, at any time on or prior to the applicable Option Closing Date, which termination shall be without liability on the part of any party to any other party, except that Section 4, Section 6, Section 8 and Section 9 hereof shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.
Section 6. Reimbursement of Underwriters’ Expenses. If this Agreement is terminated by the Representative pursuant to Section 5, Section 10 or Section 11 hereof (other than pursuant to clauses (ii) or (iii) thereof), or if the sale to the Underwriters of the Offered Securities on the First Closing Date is not consummated because of any refusal, inability or failure on the part of the Company to perform any agreement herein or to comply with any provision hereof, the Company agrees to reimburse the Representative and the other Underwriters (or such Underwriters as have terminated this Agreement with respect to themselves), severally, upon demand for all out-of-pocket expenses that shall have been reasonably incurred by the Representative and the Underwriters in connection with the proposed purchase and the Offering and sale of the Offered Securities, including, but not limited to, the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel, printing expenses, travel expenses, postage, facsimile and telephone charges.
Section 7. Effectiveness of this Agreement. This Agreement shall become effective upon the execution and delivery hereof by the parties hereto.
Section 8. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of the Underwriters. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which such Underwriter or such affiliate, director, officer, employee, agent or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other federal or state statutory law or regulation, or the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where the Offered Securities have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary
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prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any Marketing Material, any Section 5(d) Written Communication or the IPO Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to the foregoing), or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; or (iii) any act or failure to act or any alleged act or failure to act by any Underwriter in connection with, or relating in any manner to, the securities of the Company or the Offering contemplated hereby, and which is included as part of or referred to in any loss, claim, damage, liability or action arising out of or based upon any matter covered by clause (i) or (ii) above and to reimburse each Underwriter and each such affiliate, director, officer, employee, agent and controlling person for any and all expenses (including the fees and disbursements of counsel) as such expenses are incurred by such Underwriter or such affiliate, director, officer, employee, agent or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action; provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense to the extent, but only to the extent, arising out of or based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company by the Representative in writing expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any Marketing Material, any Section 5(d) Written Communication or the IPO Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), it being understood and agreed that the only such information consists of the information described in Section 8(b) below. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 8(a) shall be in addition to any liabilities that the Company may otherwise have.
(b) Indemnification of the Company, its Directors and Officers. Each Underwriter agrees, severally and not jointly, to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors, each of its officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense, as incurred, to which the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, the laws or regulations of foreign jurisdictions where the Offered Securities have been offered or sold or at common law or otherwise (including in settlement of any litigation, if such settlement is effected with the written consent of such Underwriter), insofar as such loss, claim, damage, liability or expense (or actions in respect thereof as contemplated below) arises out of or is based upon (i) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement, or any amendment thereto, or any omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or (ii) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included in any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any Marketing Materials, any Section 5(d) Written Communication or the IPO Prospectus (or any such amendment or supplement) or the omission or alleged omission to state therein a material fact necessary in order to make the statements, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission was made in the Registration Statement, such preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, such Marketing Materials, such Section 5(d) Written Communication or the IPO Prospectus (or any such amendment or supplement), in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to such Underwriter furnished to the Company by the Representative in writing expressly for use therein; and to reimburse the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person for any and all expenses (including the fees and disbursements of counsel) as such expenses are incurred by the Company, or any such director, officer or controlling person in connection with investigating, defending, settling, compromising or paying any such loss, claim, damage, liability, expense or action. The Company hereby acknowledges that the only information that the Representative has furnished to the Company expressly for use in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any Marketing Materials, any Section 5(d) Written Communication or the IPO Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement to the foregoing) are (x) the list of underwriters and their respective roles and participation in
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the sale of the Offered Securities, (y) the sentences related to concessions and reallowances in the first paragraph headed “Commissions and Expenses” and (z) the statements set forth in the paragraphs headed “Stabilization” under the caption “Underwriting” in the Preliminary Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus. The indemnity agreement set forth in this Section 8(b) shall be in addition to any liabilities that each Underwriter may otherwise have.
(c) Notifications and Other Indemnification Procedures. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section 8 of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against an indemnifying party under this Section 8, notify the indemnifying party in writing of the commencement thereof, but the omission to so notify the indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from any liability which it may have to any indemnified party to the extent the indemnifying party is not materially prejudiced as a proximate result of such failure and shall not in any event relieve the indemnifying party from any liability that it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and such indemnified party seeks or intends to seek indemnity from an indemnifying party, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in, and, to the extent that it shall elect, jointly with all other indemnifying parties similarly notified, by written notice delivered to the indemnified party promptly after receiving the aforesaid notice from such indemnified party, to assume the defense thereof with counsel reasonably satisfactory to such indemnified party; provided, however, that if the defendants in any such action include both the indemnified party and the indemnifying party and the indemnified party shall have reasonably concluded that a conflict may arise between the positions of the indemnifying party and the indemnified party in conducting the defense of any such action or that there may be legal defenses available to it and/or other indemnified parties which are different from or additional to those available to the indemnifying party, the indemnified party or parties shall have the right to select separate counsel to assume such legal defenses and to otherwise participate in the defense of such action on behalf of such indemnified party or parties. Upon receipt of notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of such indemnifying party’s election so to assume the defense of such action and approval by the indemnified party of counsel, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section 8 for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof unless (i) the indemnified party shall have employed separate counsel in accordance with the proviso to the preceding sentence (it being understood, however, that the indemnifying party shall not be liable for the fees and expenses of more than one separate counsel (together with local counsel), representing the indemnified parties who are parties to such action), which counsel (together with any local counsel) for the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Representative (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in Section 8(a) above) or by the Company (in the case of counsel for the indemnified parties referred to in Section 8(b) above) or (ii) the indemnifying party shall not have employed counsel satisfactory to the indemnified party to represent the indemnified party within a reasonable time after notice of commencement of the action or (iii) the indemnifying party has authorized in writing the employment of counsel for the indemnified party at the expense of the indemnifying party, in each of which cases the fees and expenses of counsel shall be at the expense of the indemnifying party and shall be paid as they are incurred.
(d) Settlements. The indemnifying party under this Section 8 shall not be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent, but if settled with such consent or if there be a final judgment for the plaintiff, the indemnifying party agrees to indemnify the indemnified party against any loss, claim, damage, liability or expense by reason of such settlement or judgment. Notwithstanding the foregoing sentence, if at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel as contemplated by Section 8(c) hereof, the indemnifying party shall be liable for any settlement of any proceeding effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 30 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request and (ii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed the
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indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement, compromise or consent to the entry of judgment in any pending or threatened action, suit or proceeding in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity was or could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party, unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on claims that are the subject matter of such action, suit or proceeding and does not include an admission of fault or culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of such indemnified party.
Section 9. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 8 hereof is for any reason held to be unavailable to or otherwise insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount paid or payable by such indemnified party, as incurred, as a result of any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses referred to therein (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the Offering pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages, liabilities or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the Offering pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the Offering pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company, and the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters, in each case as set forth on the front cover page of the IPO Prospectus, bear to the aggregate initial public offering price of the Offered Securities as set forth on such cover. The relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company, on the one hand, or the Underwriters, on the other hand, and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The amount paid or payable by a party as a result of the losses, claims, damages, liabilities and expenses referred to above shall be deemed to include, subject to the limitations set forth in Section 8(c) hereof, any legal or other fees or expenses reasonably incurred by such party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim. The provisions set forth in Section 8(c) hereof with respect to notice of commencement of any action shall apply if a claim for contribution is to be made under this Section 9; provided, however, that no additional notice shall be required with respect to any action for which notice has been given under Section 8(c) hereof for purposes of indemnification.
The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 9 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 9.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 9, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting discounts and commissions received by such Underwriter in connection with the Offered Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 9 are several, and not joint, in proportion to their respective underwriting commitments as set forth opposite their respective names on Schedule A. For purposes of this
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Section 9, each affiliate, director, officer, employee and agent of an Underwriter and each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of the Securities Act or the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act and the Exchange Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company.
Section 10. Default of One or More of the Several Underwriters. If, on the First Closing Date or any Option Closing Date any one or more of the several Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Offered Securities that it has or they have agreed to purchase hereunder on such date, and the aggregate number of Offered Securities which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase does not exceed 10% of the aggregate number of the Offered Securities to be purchased on such date, the Representative may make arrangements satisfactory to the Company for the purchase of such Offered Securities by other persons, including any of the Underwriters, but if no such arrangements are made by such date, the other Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, in the proportions that the number of Firm Securities set forth opposite their respective names on Schedule A bears to the aggregate number of Firm Securities set forth opposite the names of all such non-defaulting Underwriters, or in such other proportions as may be specified by the Representative with the consent of the non-defaulting Underwriters, to purchase the Offered Securities which such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed or refused to purchase on such date. If, on the First Closing Date or any Option Closing Date any one or more of the Underwriters shall fail or refuse to purchase Offered Securities and the aggregate number of Offered Securities with respect to which such default occurs exceeds 10% of the aggregate number of Offered Securities to be purchased on such date, and arrangements satisfactory to the Representative and the Company for the purchase of such Offered Securities are not made within 48 hours after such default, this Agreement shall terminate without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of Section 4, Section 6, Section 8 and Section 9 hereof shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination. In any such case either the Representative or the Company shall have the right to postpone the First Closing Date or the applicable Option Closing Date, as the case may be, but in no event for longer than seven days in order that the required changes, if any, to the Registration Statement and the IPO Prospectus or any other documents or arrangements may be effected.
As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” shall be deemed to include any person substituted for a defaulting Underwriter under this Section 10. Nothing contained in this Agreement shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of any default of such Underwriter under this Agreement.
Section 11. Termination of this Agreement. Prior to the purchase of the Firm Securities by the Underwriters on the First Closing Date, this Agreement may be terminated by the Representative by notice given to the Company if at any time: (i) trading or quotation in any of the Company’s securities shall have been suspended or limited by the Commission or by the NYSE or trading in securities generally on either the NYSE or Nasdaq shall have been suspended or limited, or minimum or maximum prices shall have been generally established on any of such stock exchanges; (ii) a general banking moratorium shall have been declared by either U.S. federal or New York state authorities; (iii) there shall have occurred any outbreak or escalation of national or international hostilities or any crisis or calamity, or any change in the United States or international financial markets, or any substantial change or development involving a prospective substantial change in United States’ or international political, financial or economic conditions, as in the judgment of the Representative is material and adverse and makes it impracticable to proceed with the offering or delivery of the Offered Securities in the manner and on the terms described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the IPO Prospectus or to enforce contracts for the sale of securities; (iv) in the judgment of the Representative there shall have occurred any Material Adverse Change; or (v) the Company shall have sustained a loss by strike, fire, flood, earthquake, accident or other calamity of such character as in the judgment of the Representative may interfere materially with the
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conduct of the business and operations of the Company regardless of whether or not such loss shall have been insured. Any termination pursuant to this Section 11 shall be without liability on the part of (a) the Company to any Underwriter, except that the Company shall be obligated to reimburse the expenses of the Representative and the Underwriters pursuant to Section 4 or Section 6 hereof or (b) any Underwriter to the Company; provided, however, that the provisions of Section 8 and Section 9 hereof shall at all times be effective and shall survive such termination.
Section 12. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Offered Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Offered Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the Offering contemplated hereby and the process leading to such transaction, each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, or its shareholders, its creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the Offering contemplated hereby or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the Offering contemplated hereby except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the Offering contemplated hereby and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.
Section 13. Representations and Indemnities to Survive Delivery. The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company, of its officers and of the several Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect, regardless of any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or the Company or any of its or their partners, officers, directors, employees, agents or any controlling person, as the case may be, and, anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, will survive delivery of and payment for the Offered Securities sold hereunder and any termination of this Agreement.
Section 14. Notices. All communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be mailed, hand delivered or telecopied and confirmed to the parties hereto as follows:
| If to the Representative: | Jefferies LLC | |
| 520 Madison Avenue | ||
| New York, New York 10022 | ||
| Facsimile: (646) 619-4437 | ||
| Attention: General Counsel | ||
| with a copy to: | White & Case LLP | |
| 1221 Avenue of the Americas | ||
| New York, New York 10020 | ||
| Facsimile: (212) 354-8113 | ||
| Attention: Joel L. Rubinstein | ||
| If to the Company: | Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. | |
| 2000 Edwards Street, Suite B | ||
| Houston, Texas 77007 | ||
| Facsimile: [_______] | ||
| Attention: David Bilger | ||
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| with a copy to: | Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP | |
| 787 Seventh Avenue | ||
| New York, New York 10019 | ||
| Facsimile: (212) 728-9285 | ||
| Attention: William H. Gump and Angela Olivarez |
Any party hereto may change the address for receipt of communications by giving written notice to the others.
Section 15. Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto, including any substitute Underwriters pursuant to Section 10 hereof, and to the benefit of the affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents and controlling persons referred to in Section 8 and Section 9 hereof, and in each case their respective successors, and personal representatives, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. The term “successors” shall not include any purchaser of the Offered Securities as such from any of the Underwriters merely by reason of such purchase.
Section 16. Partial Unenforceability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other section, paragraph or provision hereof. If any section, paragraph or provision of this Agreement is for any reason determined to be invalid or unenforceable, there shall be deemed to be made such minor changes (and only such minor changes) as are necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
Section 17. Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.
In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity (as defined below) becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime (as defined below), the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation herein, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate (as defined below) of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights (as defined below) under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.
For purposes of this Agreement, (A) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k); (B) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b); (C) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable; and (D) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.
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Section 18. Governing Law Provisions. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements made and to be performed in such state. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby may be instituted in the federal courts of the United States of America located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York or the courts of the State of New York in each case located in the Borough of Manhattan in the City of New York (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
Section 19. General Provisions. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties to this Agreement and supersedes all prior written or oral and all contemporaneous oral agreements, understandings and negotiations with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each one of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. This Agreement may not be amended or modified unless in writing by all of the parties hereto, and no condition herein (express or implied) may be waived unless waived in writing by each party whom the condition is meant to benefit. The Section headings herein are for the convenience of the parties only and shall not affect the construction or interpretation of this Agreement.
Each of the parties hereto acknowledges that it is a sophisticated business person who was adequately represented by counsel during negotiations regarding the provisions hereof, including, without limitation, the indemnification provisions of Section 8 hereof and the contribution provisions of Section 9 hereof, and is fully informed regarding said provisions. Each of the parties hereto further acknowledges that the provisions of Section 8 and Section 9 hereof fairly allocate the risks in light of the ability of the parties to investigate the Company, its affairs and its business in order to assure that adequate disclosure has been made in the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the IPO Prospectus (and any amendments and supplements to the foregoing), as contemplated by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act.
[Signature Pages Follow.]
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If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, kindly sign and return to the Company the enclosed copies hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts hereof, shall become a binding agreement in accordance with its terms.
| Very truly yours, | ||
| GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
The foregoing Underwriting Agreement is hereby confirmed and accepted by the Representative in New York, New York as of the date first above written.
JEFFERIES LLC
Acting individually and as Representative
of the several Underwriters named in
the attached Schedule A.
| JEFFERIES LLC | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: Tina Pappas | ||
| Title: Managing Director | ||
Schedule A
| Underwriters |
Total Number of Firm Securities to be Purchased |
Total Number of Offered Securities to be Purchased if Maximum Optional Securities are Purchased |
||||||
| Column A Units to be Sold |
||||||||
| Jefferies LLC |
20,000,000 | 23,000,000 | ||||||
| Total |
20,000,000 | 23,000,000 | ||||||
Schedule B
TIME OF DELIVERY INFORMATION
| 1. | Public offering price per unit: $10.00 |
| 2. | Number of units offered: 20,000,000 (plus an additional 3,000,000 units if the underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full) |
Schedule C
Permitted Section 5(b) Communications
| • | Pre-Marketing Presentation dated September 2020. |
Exhibit A
Form of Press Release
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
[Date]
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) announced today that Jefferies LLC, the sole book-running manager and representative of the underwriters in the Company’s recent public sale of Units, are [waiving] [releasing] a lock-up restriction with respect to the Company’s [Class A Ordinary Shares] [Warrants] [Units] held by [the Sponsor][certain officers or directors] [an officer or director] of the Company. The [waiver] [release] will take effect on [Date], and the securities may be sold or otherwise disposed of on or after such date.
This press release is not an offer for sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction where such offer is prohibited, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit 5.1
|
787 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10019-6099 Tel: 212 728 8000 Fax: 212 728 8111 |
October 6, 2020
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
2000 Edwards St., Suite B
Houston, TX 77007
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as New York counsel to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp., a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation and filing by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a registration statement on Form S-1 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”) and the related prospectus relating to the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of the offer and sale by the Company of 23,000,000 units of the Company, including up to 3,000,000 units which may be purchased from the Company upon the exercise of the over-allotment option to purchase additional Units set forth in the Underwriting Agreement (as defined below) (collectively, the “Units”), with each Unit consisting of one of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share (each, an “Ordinary Share”), and one-half of one redeemable warrant (each, a “Warrant”), each whole Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Ordinary Share.
This opinion letter is rendered in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S–K under the Securities Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related prospectus, any prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) with respect thereto, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issue of the Units.
In connection with our opinions expressed below, we have examined originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of the following documents and such other documents, corporate records, certificates and other statements of government officials and corporate officers of the Company as we deemed necessary for the purposes of the opinions set forth in this opinion letter:
| (a) | the Registration Statement; |
| (b) | the form of underwriting agreement to be entered into between the Company and the representative on behalf of each of the several underwriters named in Schedule A thereto, filed as Exhibit 1.1 to the Registration Statement (the “Underwriting Agreement”); |
| (c) | the form of Unit certificate, filed as Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement; |
| (d) | the form of Warrant certificate, filed as Exhibit 4.3 to the Registration Statement; and |
| (e) | the form of Warrant Agreement to be entered into by and between the Company and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent (the “Warrant Agent”), pursuant to which the Warrants will be issued (the “Warrant Agreement”), filed as Exhibit 4.4 to the Registration Statement. |
NEW YORK WASHINGTON HOUSTON PALO ALTO SAN FRANCISCO CHICAGO PARIS LONDON FRANKFURT BRUSSELS MILAN ROME
The documents listed in clauses (b) through (e) above and the other documents that we have examined in connection therewith are referred to as the “Transaction Documents.”
We have relied, to the extent we deem such reliance proper, upon such certificates or comparable documents of officers and representatives of the Company and of public officials and upon statements and information furnished by officers and representatives of the Company with respect to the accuracy of material factual matters contained therein which were not independently established by us. In rendering the opinions expressed below, we have assumed, without independent investigation or verification of any kind, the genuineness of all signatures on documents we have reviewed, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons signing all such documents, the authenticity and completeness of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to authentic, complete original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, the truthfulness, completeness and correctness of all factual representations and statements contained in all documents we have reviewed, the accuracy and completeness of all public records examined by us and the accuracy of all statements in certificates of officers of the Company that we reviewed.
In addition, in rendering the opinions expressed below, we have assumed that: (i) each party to each Transaction Document is duly organized and validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or formation and has, and had at all relevant times, full power and authority to execute and deliver, and to perform its obligations under, each Transaction Document to which it is a party, (ii) that each Transaction Document has been or will be duly authorized, and will be executed and delivered, by all of the parties thereto, and each party to the each of the Transaction Documents has satisfied or will satisfy all other legal requirements that are applicable to it to the extent necessary to make each Transaction Document enforceable against it, (iii) that each Transaction Document will constitute the valid, binding and enforceable obligation of all of the parties thereto under all applicable laws; provided, however, that this assumption is not made as to the Company to the extent expressly addressed in our opinions in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this opinion letter, (iv) that the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations under, each Transaction Document by each party thereto will not (A) contravene such party’s memorandum and articles of association or articles or certificate of incorporation, by-laws or similar organizational documents, (B) contravene any laws or governmental rules or regulations that may be applicable to such party or its assets, (C) contravene any judicial or administrative judgment, injunction, order or decree that is binding upon such party or its assets, or (D) breach or result in a default under any contract, indenture, lease, or other agreement or instrument applicable to or binding upon such party or its assets, (v) that all consents, approvals, licenses, authorizations, orders of, and all filings or registrations with, any governmental or regulatory authority or agency required under the laws of any jurisdiction for the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations under, each Transaction Document by each party thereto have been or will be obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (vi) that there are no agreements or other arrangements that modify, supersede, novate, terminate or otherwise alter any of the terms of any Transaction Document.
Based upon the foregoing assumptions and assumptions set forth below, and subject to the qualifications and limitations stated herein, having considered such questions of law as we have deemed necessary as a basis for the opinions expressed below, we are of the opinion that:
| 1. | When the Registration Statement becomes effective under the Securities Act and the Units have been issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement against the payment of the consideration set forth in the Underwriting Agreement, the Units will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership, conservatorship, liquidation, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer and other laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, and (ii) the application of general principles of equity (whether applied by a court in equity or at law). |
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| 2. | When the Registration Statement becomes effective under the Securities Act and the Warrants included in the Units have been delivered by the Company pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement against the payment of the consideration set forth in the Underwriting Agreement, the Warrants will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership, conservatorship, liquidation, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer and other laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, and (ii) the application of general principles of equity (whether applied by a court of law in equity or at law). |
The opinions expressed above are limited to questions arising under the law of the State of New York. We do not express any opinion as to the laws of any other jurisdiction.
This opinion letter is for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement and may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Securities Act. This opinion letter is provided solely in connection with the distribution of the Units pursuant to the Registration Statement and is not to be relied upon for any other purpose.
The opinions expressed above are as of the date hereof only, and we express no opinion as to, and assume no responsibility for, the effect of any fact or circumstance occurring, or of which we learn, subsequent to the date of this opinion letter, including, without limitation, legislative and other changes in the law or changes in circumstances affecting any party. We assume no responsibility to update this opinion letter for, or to advise you of, any such facts or circumstances of which we become aware, regardless of whether or not they affect the opinions expressed in this opinion letter.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm as counsel for the Company that has passed on the validity of the Units and Warrants appearing under the caption “Legal Matters” in the prospectus forming part of the Registration Statement or any prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) with respect thereto. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.
| Very truly yours, |
| /s/ Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP |
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Exhibit 5.2
| Our ref | MAA/775789-000001/63704987v3 |
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
6 October 2020
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
We have acted as counsel as to Cayman Islands law to Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) in connection with the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1, including all amendments or supplements thereto, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”) (including its exhibits, the “Registration Statement”) for the purposes of, registering with the Commission under the Act, the offering and sale to the public of:
| (a) | up to 23,000,000 units (including 3,000,000 units, which the several underwriters, for whom Jefferies LLC is acting as representative (“Representative”), will have a 45-day option to purchase from the Company to cover over-allotments, if any) (“Units”) at an offering price of US$10 per Unit, each Unit consisting of: |
| (i) | one Class A ordinary share of a par value of US$0.0001 of the Company (“Ordinary Shares”); and |
| (ii) | one-half of one redeemable warrant, each whole warrant exercisable to purchase one Class A Ordinary Share at a price of US$11.50 per Class A Ordinary Share (“Warrants”); |
| (b) | all Ordinary Shares and Warrants issued as part of the Units. |
This opinion letter is given in accordance with the terms of the Legal Matters section of the Registration Statement.
| 1 | Documents Reviewed |
We have reviewed originals, copies, drafts or conformed copies of the following documents:
| 1.1 | The certificate of incorporation dated 29 July 2020 and the memorandum and articles of association of the Company as registered or adopted on 29 July 2020 (the “Memorandum and Articles”). |
| 1.2 | The written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company dated 30 July 2020 (the “Resolutions”) and the corporate records of the Company maintained at its registered office in the Cayman Islands. |
| 1.3 | A certificate of good standing with respect to the Company issued by the Registrar of Companies (the “Certificate of Good Standing”). |
| 1.4 | A certificate from a director of the Company a copy of which is attached to this opinion letter (the “Director’s Certificate”). |
| 1.5 | The Registration Statement. |
| 1.6 | A draft of the form of the unit certificate representing the Units (the “Unit Certificate”). |
| 1.7 | A draft of the form of the warrant agreement and the warrant certificate constituting the Warrants (the “Warrant Documents”). |
| 1.8 | A draft of the underwriting agreement between the Company and the Representative (the “Underwriting Agreement”). |
The documents listed in paragraphs 1.6 to 1.8 inclusive above shall be referred to collectively herein as the “Documents”.
| 2 | Assumptions |
The following opinions are given only as to, and based on, circumstances and matters of fact existing and known to us on the date of this opinion letter. These opinions only relate to the laws of the Cayman Islands which are in force on the date of this opinion letter. In giving the following opinions, we have relied (without further verification) upon the completeness and accuracy, as at the date of this opinion letter, of the Director’s Certificate and the Certificate of Good Standing. We have also relied upon the following assumptions, which we have not independently verified:
| 2.1 | The Documents have been or will be authorised and duly executed and unconditionally delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
| 2.2 | The Documents are, or will be, legal, valid, binding and enforceable against all relevant parties in accordance with their terms under the laws of the State of New York (the “Relevant Law”) and all other relevant laws (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
| 2.3 | The choice of the Relevant Law as the governing law of the Documents has been made in good faith and would be regarded as a valid and binding selection which will be upheld by the courts of the State of New York and any other relevant jurisdiction (other than the Cayman Islands) as a matter of the Relevant Law and all other relevant laws (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands). |
| 2.4 | Copies of documents, conformed copies or drafts of documents provided to us are true and complete copies of, or in the final forms of, the originals. |
| 2.5 | All signatures, initials and seals are genuine. |
2
| 2.6 | The capacity, power, authority and legal right of all parties under all relevant laws and regulations (other than, with respect to the Company, the laws and regulations of the Cayman Islands) to enter into, execute, unconditionally deliver and perform their respective obligations under the Documents. |
| 2.7 | No invitation has been or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of the Units, the Warrants or the Ordinary Shares |
| 2.8 | There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Documents. |
| 2.9 | No monies paid to or for the account of any party under the Documents or any property received or disposed of by any party to the Documents in each case in connection with the Documents or the consummation of the transactions contemplated thereby represent or will represent proceeds of criminal conduct or criminal property or terrorist property (as defined in the Proceeds of Crime Law (2020 Revision) and the Terrorism Law (2018 Revision), respectively). |
| 2.10 | There is nothing under any law (other than the laws of the Cayman Islands) which would or might affect the opinions set out below. Specifically, we have made no independent investigation of the Relevant Law. |
| 2.11 | The Company will receive money or money’s worth in consideration for the issue of the Ordinary Shares and none of the Ordinary Shares were or will be issued for less than par value. |
Save as aforesaid we have not been instructed to undertake and have not undertaken any further enquiry or due diligence in relation to the transaction the subject of this opinion letter.
| 3 | Opinions |
Based upon, and subject to, the foregoing assumptions and the qualifications set out below, and having regard to such legal considerations as we deem relevant, we are of the opinion that:
| 3.1 | The Company has been duly incorporated as an exempted company with limited liability and is validly existing and in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands. |
| 3.2 | The Ordinary Shares to be offered and issued by the Company as contemplated by the Registration Statement have been duly authorised for issue, and when issued by the Company against payment in full of the consideration as set out in the Registration Statement and in accordance with the terms set out in the Registration Statement, such Ordinary Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. As a matter of Cayman Islands law, a share is only issued when it has been entered in the register of members (shareholders). |
| 3.3 | The execution, delivery and performance of the Unit Certificate and the Warrant Documents have been authorised by and on behalf of the Company and, once the Unit Certificate and the Warrant Documents have been executed and delivered by any director or officer of the Company, the Unit Certificate and the Warrant Documents will be duly executed and delivered on behalf of the Company and will constitute the legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms. |
3
| 4 | Qualifications |
The opinions expressed above are subject to the following qualifications:
| 4.1 | The term “enforceable” as used above means that the obligations assumed by the Company under the Documents are of a type which the courts of the Cayman Islands will enforce. It does not mean that those obligations will necessarily be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with their terms. In particular: |
| (a) | enforcement may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation, readjustment of debts or moratorium or other laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors; |
| (b) | enforcement may be limited by general principles of equity. For example, equitable remedies such as specific performance may not be available, inter alia, where damages are considered to be an adequate remedy; |
| (c) | where obligations are to be performed in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands, they may not be enforceable in the Cayman Islands to the extent that performance would be illegal under the laws of that jurisdiction; and |
| (d) | some claims may become barred under relevant statutes of limitation or may be or become subject to defences of set off, counterclaim, estoppel and similar defences. |
| 4.2 | To maintain the Company in good standing with the Registrar of Companies under the laws of the Cayman Islands, annual filing fees must be paid and returns made to the Registrar of Companies within the time frame prescribed by law. |
| 4.3 | Under Cayman Islands law, the register of members (shareholders) is prima facie evidence of title to shares and this register would not record a third party interest in such shares. However, there are certain limited circumstances where an application may be made to a Cayman Islands court for a determination on whether the register of members reflects the correct legal position. Further, the Cayman Islands court has the power to order that the register of members maintained by a company should be rectified where it considers that the register of members does not reflect the correct legal position. As far as we are aware, such applications are rarely made in the Cayman Islands and for the purposes of the opinion given in paragraph 3.2, there are no circumstances or matters of fact known to us on the date of this opinion letter which would properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company, but if such an application were made in respect of the Ordinary Shares, then the validity of such shares may be subject to re-examination by a Cayman Islands court. |
| 4.4 | Except as specifically stated herein, we make no comment with respect to any representations and warranties which may be made by or with respect to the Company in any of the documents or instruments cited in this opinion letter or otherwise with respect to the commercial terms of the transactions the subject of this opinion letter. |
| 4.5 | In this opinion the phrase “non-assessable” means, with respect to shares in the Company, that a shareholder shall not, solely by virtue of its status as a shareholder, be liable for additional assessments or calls on the shares by the Company or its creditors (except in exceptional circumstances, such as involving fraud, the establishment of an agency relationship or an illegal or improper purpose or other circumstances in which a court may be prepared to pierce or lift the corporate veil). |
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We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and to the references to our firm under the headings “Legal Matters”, “Risk Factors”, “Shareholders’ Suits” and “Enforcement of Civil Liabilities” in the prospectus included in the Registration Statement. In providing our consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the Rules and Regulations of the Commission thereunder.
This opinion letter is addressed to you and may be relied upon by you, your counsel and purchasers of Units pursuant to the Registration Statement. This opinion letter is limited to the matters detailed herein and is not to be read as an opinion with respect to any other matter.
Yours faithfully
Maples and Calder
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Genesis Park Acquisition Corp.
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
5 October 2020
| To: | Maples and Calder |
PO Box 309, Ugland House
Grand Cayman
KY1-1104
Cayman Islands
Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”)
I, the undersigned, being a director of the Company, am aware that you are being asked to provide an opinion letter (the “Opinion”) in relation to certain aspects of Cayman Islands law. Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalised terms used in this certificate have the respective meanings given to them in the Opinion. I hereby certify that:
| 1 | The Memorandum and Articles remain in full force and effect and are unamended. |
| 2 | The Company has not entered into any mortgages or charges over its property or assets other than those entered in the register of mortgages and charges of the Company. |
| 3 | The Resolutions were duly passed in the manner prescribed in the Memorandum and Articles (including, without limitation, with respect to the disclosure of interests (if any) by directors of the Company) and have not been amended, varied or revoked in any respect. |
| 4 | The authorised share capital of the Company is US$25,200 divided into 230,000,000 Class A ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each, 20,000,000 Class B ordinary shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each and 2,000,000 preference shares of a par value of US$0.0001 each. The issued share capital of the Company is 5,750,000 Class B ordinary shares, which have been duly authorised and are validly issued as fully-paid and non-assessable. |
| 5 | The shareholders of the Company (the “Shareholders”) have not restricted the powers of the directors of the Company in any way. |
| 6 | The sole director of the Company at the date of the Resolutions and at the date of this certificate was and is as follows: Paul William Hobby. |
| 7 | The minute book and corporate records of the Company as maintained at its registered office in the Cayman Islands and made available to you are complete and accurate in all material respects, and all minutes and resolutions filed therein represent a complete and accurate record of all meetings of the Shareholders and directors (or any committee thereof) of the Company (duly convened in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles) and all resolutions passed at the meetings or passed by written resolution or consent, as the case may be. |
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| 8 | Prior to, at the time of, and immediately following the approval of the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement, the Company was, or will be, able to pay its debts as they fell, or fall, due and has entered, or will enter, into the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement for proper value and not with an intention to defraud or wilfully defeat an obligation owed to any creditor or with a view to giving a creditor a preference. |
| 9 | Each director of the Company considers the transactions contemplated by the Registration Statement to be of commercial benefit to the Company and has acted in good faith in the best interests of the Company, and for a proper purpose of the Company, in relation to the transactions which are the subject of the Opinion. |
| 10 | To the best of my knowledge and belief, having made due inquiry, the Company is not the subject of legal, arbitral, administrative or other proceedings in any jurisdiction. Nor have the directors or Shareholders taken any steps to have the Company struck off or placed in liquidation, nor have any steps been taken to wind up the Company. Nor has any receiver been appointed over any of the Company’s property or assets. |
| 11 | To the best of my knowledge and belief, having made due inquiry, there are no circumstances or matters of fact existing which may properly form the basis for an application for an order for rectification of the register of members of the Company. |
| 12 | The Registration Statement has been, or will be, authorised and duly executed and delivered by or on behalf of all relevant parties in accordance with all relevant laws. |
| 13 | No invitation has been made or will be made by or on behalf of the Company to the public in the Cayman Islands to subscribe for any of the Ordinary Shares. |
| 14 | The Ordinary Shares to be issued pursuant to the Registration Statement have been, or will be, duly registered, and will continue to be registered, in the Company’s register of members (shareholders). |
| 15 | The Company is not a central bank, monetary authority or other sovereign entity of any state and is not a subsidiary, direct or indirect, of any sovereign entity or state. |
| 16 | There is no contractual or other prohibition or restriction (other than as arising under Cayman Islands law) binding on the Company prohibiting or restricting it from entering into and performing its obligations under the Documents. |
(Signature Page follows)
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I confirm that you may continue to rely on this certificate as being true and correct on the day that you issue the Opinion unless I shall have previously notified you in writing personally to the contrary.
| Signature: | /s/ Paul W. Hobby | |
| Name: | Paul W. Hobby | |
| Title: | Director |
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Exhibit 10.9
GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP.
2000 Edwards Street, Suite B
Houston, Texas 77007
October [●], 2020
Genesis Park II LP
2000 Edwards Street, Suite B
Houston, Texas 77007
Ladies and Gentlemen:
This letter agreement will confirm our agreement that, commencing on the effective date (the “Effective Date”) of the registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) for the initial public offering (the “IPO”) of the securities of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) and continuing until the earlier of (i) the consummation by the Company of an initial business combination and (ii) the Company’s liquidation (in each case as described in the Registration Statement) (such earlier date hereinafter referred to as the “Termination Date”), Genesis Park II LP (“Genesis Park”) shall take steps directly or indirectly to make available to the Company certain office space and secretarial and administrative services as may be required by the Company from time to time, situated at 2000 Edwards Street, Suite B, Houston, Texas 77007 (or any successor location). In exchange therefore, the Company shall pay Genesis Park (or an affiliate as directed by Genesis Park) a sum of $15,000 per month commencing on the Effective Date and continuing monthly thereafter until the Termination Date. Genesis Park hereby agrees that it does not have any right, title, interest or claim of any kind (a “Claim”) as a result of, or arising out of, this letter agreement in or to any monies that may be set aside in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) that may be established for the benefit of the public shareholders of the Company in connection with and upon the consummation of the IPO and hereby irrevocably waives any Claim it presently has or may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, this letter agreement, and agrees that it will not seek recourse, reimbursement, payment or satisfaction of any Claim against the Trust Account or any monies or other assets in the Trust Account for any reason whatsoever as a result of, or arising out of, this letter agreement.
This letter agreement constitutes the entire agreement and understanding of the parties hereto in respect of its subject matter and supersedes all prior understandings, agreements and representations by or among the parties hereto, written or oral, to the extent they relate in any way to the subject matter hereof or the transactions contemplated hereby.
This letter agreement may not be amended, modified or waived as to any particular provision, except by a written instrument executed by the parties hereto.
The parties may not assign this letter agreement and any of their rights, interests, or obligations hereunder without the consent of the other party. Any purported assignment in violation of this paragraph shall be null and void and shall not operate to transfer or assign any interest or title to the purported assignee.
This letter agreement and any dispute between the parties hereto with respect to this letter agreement, shall be governed by, construed in accordance with, and interpreted pursuant to the laws of the State of New York, without giving effect to its choice of laws principles that will apply the laws of another jurisdiction.
This letter agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall for all purposes be deemed to be an original but all of which together shall constitute one and the same agreement. Only one such counterpart signed by the party against whom enforceability is sought needs to be produced to evidence the existence of this letter agreement.
[Signature Page Follows]
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| Very truly yours, | ||
| GENESIS PARK ACQUISITION CORP. | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: Paul W. Hobby | ||
| Title: Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||
| Agreed and Accepted: | ||
| GENESIS PARK II LP | ||
| By: Genesis Park II GP LLC, its General Partner | ||
| By: |
| |
| Name: Paul W. Hobby | ||
| Title: Authorized Signatory | ||
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Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form S-1, Amendment No. 1, of our report dated September 25, 2020, relating to the balance sheet of Genesis Park Acquisition Corp. as of July 30, 2020 and the related statements of operations, changes in shareholder’s equity and cash flows for the period from July 29, 2020 (inception) through July 30, 2020, and to the reference to our Firm under the caption “Experts” in the Prospectus.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC
New York, New York
October 6, 2020