Stardust Power Inc 10-K for FY2021
Stardust Power Inc. (SDST)
About this 10-K
Stardust Power Inc filed this 10-K on March 18, 2022, covering the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (FY2021).
Headline figures
Fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as reported in this filing, compared with the same period a year earlier where the filing states it.
- Net income
- $4.71M
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended
For the transition period from to
Commission file number:
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) |
Registrant’s telephone number, including
area code:
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of Each Class: | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
| Units, each consisting of one Class A ordinary share, $.0001 par value, and one-sixth of one redeemable warrant | GPACU | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC | ||
| Redeemable warrants | GPACW | The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer,
as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports
pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all
reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for
such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether
the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T
(§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit
such files).
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer, “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
| ☒ | Smaller reporting company | |||||
| Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant
has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant
to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness
of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered
public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as
defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
The aggregate market value of the units outstanding, other than units
held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing price of the units on June 30, 2021,
as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market, was $
As of March
17, 2022, there were
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
None.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
i
Unless otherwise stated in this annual report on Form 10-K, references to:
| ➤ | “amended and restated memorandum and article of association” are to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association; |
| ➤ | “board of directors” or “board” are to the board of directors of the Company; |
| ➤ | “Class A ordinary shares” are to the Class A ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share; |
| ➤ | “Class B ordinary shares” are to the Class B ordinary shares of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share; |
| ➤ | “Companies Law” are to the Companies Act (2020 Revision) of the Cayman Islands as the same may be amended from time to time; |
| ➤ | “Continental” are to Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, trustee of our trust account (as defined below) and warrant agent of our public warrants (as defined below); |
| ➤ | “combined team” are to our management and sponsor team, collectively; |
| ➤ | “detachable redeemable warrants” are to the redeemable warrants included as part of the units, with one-sixth of one detachable redeemable warrant included in each unit; |
| ➤ | “directors” are to our current directors; |
| ➤ | “distributable redeemable warrants” are to the redeemable warrants which our public shareholders have the contingent right to receive, in certain circumstances described in this report, following the initial business combination redemption time, with one-sixth of one detachable redeemable warrant receivable per each public share not redeemed in connection with our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | “distribution time” are to the time at which the distributable redeemable warrants will be distributed, which will occur immediately after the initial business combination redemption time and immediately prior to the closing of our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | “Exchange Act” are to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; |
| ➤ | “FINRA” are to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority; |
| ➤ | “Founder” are to Paul J. Zepf; |
| ➤ | “founder shares” are to our Class B ordinary shares initially issued to our sponsor in a private placement and the Class A ordinary shares that will be issued upon the automatic conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof (for the avoidance of doubt, such Class A ordinary shares will not be “public shares”). Founder shares are subject to vesting and transfer restrictions; |
| ➤ | “GAAP” are to the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America; |
| ➤ | “GPAC” is to Global Partner Acquisition Corp.; |
| ➤ | “IFRS” are to the International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board; |
| ➤ | “initial business combination” are to a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses; |
| ➤ | “initial business combination redemption time” are to the time of exercise of our public shareholders’ rights to redeem public shares in connection with our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | “our IPO” or “initial public offering” are to our initial public offering, which we completed on January 14, 2021; |
| ➤ | “Investment Company Act” are to the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended; |
| ➤ | “JOBS Act” are to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012; |
| ➤ | “management” or our “management team” are to our executive officers and directors; |
ii
| ➤ | “Nasdaq” are to the Nasdaq Stock Market; |
| ➤ | “ordinary shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares; |
| ➤ | “PCAOB” are to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States); |
| ➤ | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor in a private placement, or issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any; |
| ➤ | “public shares” are to our Class A ordinary shares sold as part of our units; |
| ➤ | “public shareholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our sponsor and management team to the extent our sponsor or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that our sponsor and each member of our management team will be a “public shareholder” only with respect to such public shares; |
| ➤ | “redeemable warrants” are to our detachable redeemable warrants and our distributable redeemable warrants; |
| ➤ | “Registration Statement” are to the Form S-1 initially filed with the SEC December 21, 2020 (File No. 333-251558), as amended; |
| ➤ | “Report” are to this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021; |
| ➤ | “Sarbanes-Oxley Act” are to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; |
| ➤ | “SEC” are to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; |
| ➤ | “Securities Act” are to the Securities Act of 1933, as amended; |
| ➤ | “SPAC” are to one or more special purpose acquisition companies, including, when required by the context, the Company; |
| ➤ | “sponsor” or “initial shareholder” are to Global Partner Sponsor II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, the sole managing member of which is Paul J. Zepf, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and whose other members include our directors, and executive officers and members of our advisory group; |
| ➤ | “sponsor team” are to certain members of our sponsor who will be acting as our advisors, including XRC Labs (“XRC”); |
| ➤ | “trust account” are to the trust account in which an amount of $300,000,000 ($10.00 per unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the units (as defined below) in the initial public offering and private placement warrants was placed following the closing of the initial public offering; |
| ➤ | “units” are to the units sold in our initial public offering, which consist of one public share and one-sixth of one public warrant; and |
| ➤ | “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” or “our Company” are to Global Partner Acquisition Corp II, a Cayman Islands exempted company. |
iii
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Some of the statements contained in this annual report on Form 10-K may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this report may include, for example, statements about:
| ➤ | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses; |
| ➤ | our ability to complete our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | our expectations around the performance of a prospective target business or businesses; |
| ➤ | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| ➤ | The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash prior to our initial business combination; |
| ➤ | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| ➤ | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential business combination opportunities; |
| ➤ | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| ➤ | the use of proceeds from our IPO 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. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
iv
PART I
Item 1. Business
BUSINESS
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in November 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting an initial business combination.
We intend to focus our efforts on seeking and completing an initial business combination with a company that has an enterprise value of between $1.0 billion and $3.0 billion, although a target entity with a smaller or larger enterprise value may be considered. While we may pursue an acquisition opportunity in any business industry or sector, we intend to capitalize on the ability of our combined team to identify, acquire and add value to a business following the initial business combination. The industry sectors that we have targeted and intend to continue to target, many of which are undergoing technology-driven transformation, include consumer, food, branded products, e-commerce and retail disruptors and consumerization of healthcare, as well as certain service sectors and the technology underlying and driving changes across these sectors and related industries. We believe that the characteristics and capabilities of our combined team make us an attractive partner to potential target businesses, enhance our ability to complete a successful business combination and bring value to the business post-business combination. We believe these capabilities were demonstrated in our combined team’s successful sourcing and completion of GPAC’s merger with Purple, as well as our significant work with Purple since the closing of the merger.
The Company brings together three elements that we believe create a competitive advantage which differentiates us from other acquisition vehicles in the market, and significantly improve our chances of completing a successful business combination.
| 1. | Proven executive team, led by our Chairman and CEO Paul J. Zepf; |
| 2. | Value-added strategic partnership with XRC Labs, as well as a deep “ecosystem” of executive and corporate relationships and resources; and |
| 3. | Our less dilutive and more aligned APEX ™ SPAC structure. |
We believe the combined team possesses an ideal mix of core characteristics for a special purpose acquisition corporation. This combined team includes what we view to be successful dealmakers or operators, with experience across multiple deal types, including complicated special situations and as senior operators across a variety of businesses and industries. This combined team has demonstrable experience and valuable contracts across a wide range of industries and business lines, which we believe will allow us to source deals that other investors could not. The combined team also has what we believe is a longstanding track record of value creation, both as investors and for investors, across the gamut of private equity or direct public and private company investing. Our network and current affiliations across the team will allow us to lean heavily on an existing infrastructure of resources that will assist in due diligence, underwriting and ultimately structuring an acquisition. We may also leverage our Advisory Group as needed.
With respect to the foregoing examples, past performance by our management team or sponsor 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. Furthermore, in considering any past performance information contained herein, you should bear in mind that actual returns depend on, among other factors, future operating results, the value of the investments and market conditions at the time of disposition, any related transaction costs and the timing and manner of sale, all of which may differ from the assumptions on which the overall performance of any prior investments are based.
Our Management Team
We have assembled a number of seasoned corporate executives and professional advisors to serve as our executive officers and directors, alongside Mr. Zepf. Because we are likely to be actively involved in the strategy and operations of our target companies (although there can be no assurances that we will be), our directors have been chosen for their extensive sector and executive experience in managing successful companies. In addition to providing us with strategic insights, which include in-depth knowledge of industry dynamics, competition and operational capabilities, our independent directors will provide access to their broad networks of operating executives and other resources. For more information about our executive officers and directors, please see Part III, Item 10 of this report, “Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.”
1
Our Advisory Group
In addition to our management team and board of directors, we have assembled an experienced team of strategic partners and individuals (our “Advisory Group”) to assist in the sourcing, evaluation, due diligence, deal execution, and post-closing strategic involvement with potential business combination partners. Members of the Advisory Group have also invested in our sponsor. We believe the operational expertise of the Advisory Group is a differentiating element of our approach, which gives us the opportunity to pursue potential business combination targets in several industry sectors where we have expertise, and increases our likelihood of finding and completing a suitable business combination. The Advisory Group consists of individuals with specific experience in a broad range of industry sectors, including technology, retail, consumer goods, industrials and the food & hospitality sectors because we believe that examining acquisition opportunities across all of these sectors increases the likelihood of finding an acquisition target that will lead to shareholder value creation. In addition, members of the Advisory Group include professionals who have been successful chief executive officers, senior executives and board members of public and private companies, and we believe they will enhance our value proposition to potential business combination partners given their collective expertise, operational and strategic capabilities and track record in their respective sectors. Members of the Advisory Group also may be managers of pools of capital, and may be helpful in providing or obtaining financing, if such financing is necessary, in connection with our initial business combination, although there can be no assurance that they will do so. The Advisory Group has experience in:
| ➤ | Operating companies, setting and changing strategies and capital allocation and identifying, monitoring and recruiting world-class talent; |
| ➤ | Acquiring and integrating companies; |
| ➤ | Advising businesses in their digital transformation efforts and helping them grow in the digital age; |
| ➤ | Embarking on corporate turnarounds and implementing transformational long-term strategies; and |
| ➤ | Developing and growing companies, both organically and through acquisitions and strategic transactions and expanding the product range and geographic footprint of businesses. |
The members of the Advisory Group include the following individuals:
| ➤ | David Chamberlain: David Chamberlain is currently a managing partner at Eaglepoint Advisors. He previously served as CEO of Stride Rite Corporation, Genesco and Shaklee Corporation and held senior management positions at Nabisco Brands and Quaker Oats. |
| ➤ | Mark Drever: Mark Drever is currently CEO of Organic Girl and is a member of the board of directors of Musco Family Olive Company. He previously served as president of Fresh Express and was a member of the board of directors of Oberto Brands. |
| ➤ | Neal D. Goldman: Neal Goldman is a partner at Eaglepoint Advisors. He previously served as chief legal and regulatory officer at Skype and chief administrative and legal officer at 3Com and Polaroid. |
| ➤ | Adam Gray: Adam Gray is a managing partner and co-founder of Coliseum Capital Management and also serves on the board of Purple. He is on the board of directors at Pas Group Limited and previously held board positions at Blue Bird Corporation, DEI Holding and Benihana. |
| ➤ | Michael Johnston: Michael Johnston is currently a partner at Eaglepoint Advisors and serves on the board of directors at Whirlpool Corporation, Dover Corp. and Armstrong World Industries. He previously was CEO of Visteon Corporation and held leadership roles at Johnson Controls. |
2
| ➤ | Joseph B. Megibow: Joseph Megibow was Chief Executive Officer of Purple from October 2018 to December 2021. He previously held senior management roles Joyus, Inc., American Eagle Outfitters and Expedia. |
| ➤ | Jeffrey Weiss: Jeffrey Weiss is currently the CEO of Smart Financial and Loanmart, two Fortress Investment Group portfolio companies. He previously served as founder and CEO of Cloverdale Press and was the founding editor of Country Living Magazine. |
Strategic Partner
XRC Labs was formed by our director, Pano Anthos, in 2015 in order to disrupt the consumer goods and retail industries by investing in 20+ early stage startups per year. XRC’s mission is to foster companies and products that innovate the face of consumer goods, ecommerce, retail and related sectors in a rapidly changing marketplace. To support these innovation and startups, XRC has built an ecosystem of nine major corporate and over 200 affiliate partners, ten fund advisors, 300 industry mentors, and 3 national industry trade organizations.
XRC’s corporate partners represent a leading mix of brands, retailers and third party providers. CVS Health, MasterCard, Intel, TJX, Accenture, Lowes, Estee Lauder and GS1 US have financially supported XRC to provide them with access to future innovation, connections through the network, new business models and thought leadership. Regularly, these partners pilot our new programs or companies and provide access to leading brands and retailers.
XRC’s industry mentors include former CEO’s and executives of major brands across the ecommerce, tech, payments and retail sectors. This deep bench of successful entrepreneurs and industry specialists provides us with access to all of the resources that make disruptive companies successful, including branding, growth development, product development, etc.
We believe that the value-added resources from XRC’s network, including the corporate sponsors, will provide us with a unique and differentiated ability to source opportunities, will enhance our attractiveness to potential merger targets, and will provide us with a greater ability to add value to the target company post-merger. XRC and its partners’ technology and “convergence” experience should be applicable across multiple industry sectors, including but not limited to technology, consumer, retail, food, healthcare and many types of services and production businesses.
Business Strategy
Our strategy is to build on three key pillars: an experienced management team led by Mr. Zepf; our value-added partners in our sponsor, XRC and our advisory group members; and a next generation, more efficient and aligned APEX ™ SPAC structure.
Our sponsor team’s expertise in consumer, branded products, technology, food, e-commerce and retail, and healthcare and multiple service industries, many of which are undergoing technology-driven transformation, positions us well to source, execute and add value to companies in these sectors. Across these sectors, we intend to leverage our experience with digital “convergence” and disruption, supply chain management and product development, as well as our demonstrated ability to work with companies to drive profitable growth.
We believe the combined team possesses the core characteristics of an ideal team for a special purpose acquisition corporation. This combined team is a mix of what we view to be successful dealmakers or operators, with experience across multiple deal types, including complicated special situations and as senior operators across a variety of businesses and industries. This combined team has built a meaningful proprietary deal-sourcing network that should allow us to source deals that other investors could not. Through these endeavors, this combined team has what we believe is a long standing track record of value creation, both as investors and for investors, across the gamut of public and private company investing. Our network and current affiliations across the team will allow us to lean heavily on an existing infrastructure of resources that will assist in due diligence, underwriting and ultimately structuring an acquisition. We also intend to leverage our network of third party advisors as needed.
3
Source: Our sourcing and acquisition selection process will leverage our sponsor group’s deep, broad and trusted network of industry, private equity sponsor, investment banking and lending community relationships, as well as their relationships with family-led and founder-led private companies. Our supportive value-added approach, and ability to work with strategic partners within our network, such as XRC’s corporate sponsors, should make us an attractive merger partner to many potential merger targets. Furthermore, our team’s success with GPAC will likely further differentiate us from the other vehicles in the market, the majority of which are raised by sponsors who have no prior experience with SPAC transactions. We also believe this should provide us with a breadth of business combination opportunities, typically outside of a broad investment banking auction process. Finally, we believe that our less dilutive and more aligned APEX ™ SPAC structure will make us an attractive merger partner, thereby enhancing our sourcing capabilities.
Execute: We have extensive deal execution experience and capabilities. In addition to leading the completion of GPAC’s merger with Purple, our CEO, Mr. Zepf, has more than 30 years of experience executing negotiated private and public company investments, mergers and acquisitions, as well as initial public offerings, including while at Morgan Stanley, Lazard, Golub Capital and TowerBrook. Mr. Zepf’s execution experience is complemented by directors Mr. Anthos and Mr. DiCamillo, among others. Mr. Anthos has extensive experience investing in consumer goods and retail companies via his leadership at XRC Labs and Funds, as well as his role at Eaglepoint as the head of digital transformation. Mr. DiCamillo has been the managing partner of Eaglepoint Advisors, LLC, a privately held advisor to boards and chief executive officers in matters of strategy, organization and the management of business transition issues. Collectively, our leadership team will draw upon several decades of execution experience across a broad range of industries and markets.
Operate and Grow: The experience and capabilities of our combined team should allow us to drive growth in shareholder value following the business combination. The prior experience of the members of our combined team includes working with companies and increasing value for all stakeholders at the senior management level, as consultants, as board members and as constructive minority stake shareholders. Additionally, we intend to seek ways to work with XRC’s corporate partners to drive growth in the target company post-business combination.
With respect to the foregoing examples, past performance by our management team or sponsor 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. Furthermore, in considering any past performance information contained herein, you should bear in mind that actual returns depend on, among other factors, future operating results, the value of the investments and market conditions at the time of disposition, any related transaction costs and the timing and manner of sale, all of which may differ from the assumptions on which the overall performance of any prior investments are based.
Acquisition Criteria
We target business combination opportunities that align with our strategic insights, focus, capabilities and network. Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses. While we will use these criteria and guidelines in evaluating acquisition opportunities, we may decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet these criteria and guidelines.
We seek to acquire companies exhibiting one or more of the characteristics below:
| ➤ | Value-Added Capital for Growth and/or Consolidation Opportunities: Our combined team has significant and successful experience in investing in and working with companies that are achieving rapid and profitable growth through (a) organic growth initiatives; and/or (b) strategic consolidation opportunities. We will target companies whose owners may not have the requisite capital or experience to take advantage of compelling corporate development opportunities. Our combined team also has experience expanding companies’ markets and operations outside of the United States, and we believe our cross-border capabilities could be attractive to many potential middle market business combination targets. |
| ➤ | Operational Improvements: Our combined team has significant and successful experience in investing in and working with companies where there is an opportunity to effect meaningful operational improvements. Members of our management team and sponsor team have worked with those types of companies as investors, board members, consultants and senior management. We intend to tailor our approach to working with the target company’s management team and owners to fit the unique challenges and opportunities they face. Our combined team has the versatility and flexibility to allow us to provide strategic guidance as board members and consultants or members take on direct senior leadership roles to drive operational improvements at the target company. |
4
| ➤ | “Partnership” Sale: We may seek to acquire one or more companies with a current owner, whether founder-owned or family-owned or institutionally owned (private equity or venture capital), who would like to retain a meaningful stake in the company to preserve and enhance potential upside. As a provider of public equity capital, we are well positioned to provide liquidity and a long-term capital solution, and expect that potential merger targets and partners would view having our combined team as significant, supportive shareholders with a successful SPAC track record as a positive factor. We also could be an attractive financial and operating partner for a private equity firm that sees compelling acquisition opportunities but may be already fully invested. |
| ➤ | Technology-Driven Change and Opportunity: Many companies in our targeted industry sectors have significant challenges and opportunities resulting from rapid technology-driven change. Our combined team has deep experience in working with companies to mitigate the risks and optimize the opportunities from technology-driven change. We believe these capabilities make us an attractive merger partner. |
| ➤ | Deleveraging: Our combined team’s extensive relationships with lenders and private equity firms, as well as their prior experience in making deleveraging investments, should position us well to source and execute a recapitalizing acquisition. As opposed to many distressed debt funds/investors, we believe we would be a preferred refinancing/de-leveraging solution to owners and management teams of middle-market companies. |
| ➤ | A SPAC Business Combination as an Advantageous Liquidity Alternative: At times, the IPO market is uncertain or closed, so an acquisition by us could be a better means of going public for a target. Further, a target company’s owners and/or management might not have experience going public or as a public company and could view our management team and sponsor experience with a successful SPAC track record as an important value-added factor. Additionally, certain businesses may not be an ideal candidate for a mergers and acquisitions auction process, so a negotiated acquisition by us could offer a better means of providing liquidity for the target business’s current owners. |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. We may or may not consummate our business combination with a company that exhibits all or any of the qualities above. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our sponsors and management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into a business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we would file with the SEC. Although we are focused on identifying business combination candidates in sectors including the consumer, food, branded products, e-commerce and retail disruptors and consumerization of healthcare, as well as certain service sectors and the technology underlying and driving changes across these sectors and related industries described above, we will consider a business combination candidate outside of these industries if we determine that such candidate offers an attractive opportunity for our Company.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with members of our management team or their affiliates. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our management team or their affiliates, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent accounting firm or an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA that our initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view.
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Initial Business Combination
So long as our securities are then listed on Nasdaq, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of fair market value test. If our securities are no longer listed on Nasdaq, we will not be obligated to satisfy the 80% of fair market value test. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. The fair market value of the target or targets will be determined by our board of directors, based upon one or more standards generally accepted by the financial community (such as actual and potential sales, earnings, cash flow and/or book value.) Even though our board of directors will rely on generally accepted standards, our board of directors will have discretion to select the standards employed. In addition, the application of the standards generally involves a substantial degree of judgment. Accordingly, investors will be relying on the business judgment of the board of directors in evaluating the fair market value of the target or targets. The proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents we use in connection with any proposed initial business combination will provide public shareholders with our analysis of our satisfaction of the 80% of fair market value test, as well as the basis for our determinations. If our board is not able to determine the fair market value of the target business independently, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board will be unable to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business, it may be unable to do so if: (1) our board is less familiar or inexperienced with the target company’s business, (2) there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of the company’s assets or prospects, including if such company is at an early stage of development, operations or growth, or (3) if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills, and our board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of fair market value test, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the SEC in connection with a proposed transaction will include such opinion.
We anticipate structuring our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business. We may, however, structure our initial business combination such that the post-business combination company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or shareholders or for other reasons, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). Even if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of fair market value test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of fair market value test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on Nasdaq for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of fair market value test.
To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination
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Acquisition Process
In evaluating a potential target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review to seek to determine a company’s quality and its intrinsic value. That due diligence review may include, among other things, financial statement analysis, detailed document reviews, multiple meetings with management (which may be virtual or in person), consultations with relevant industry experts, competitors, customers and suppliers, as well as a review of additional information that we will seek to obtain as part of our analysis of a target company.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view.
Members of our management team, including our officers and directors, directly or indirectly own our securities and, accordingly, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target company is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Each of our officers and directors, as well as management team, may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers, directors and management team members was included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to such business combination.
Each of our directors and officers presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our Company, and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.
Our Founder, sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Any such companies may present additional conflicts of interest in pursuing an acquisition target, particularly in the event there is overlap among investment mandates. However, we do not currently expect that any such other blank check company would materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition, our Founder, sponsor, officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
Our distributable redeemable warrants provide our public shareholders with an incentive not to redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with our initial business combination. Public shareholders who choose to redeem their shares will lose the right to receive distributable redeemable warrants. Public shareholders who choose not to redeem their shares will receive one-sixth of a distributable redeemable warrant per public share they hold (up to a total of 5,000,000 distributable redeemable warrants assuming that no public shareholders redeem their Class A ordinary shares). We believe this structure may lead to a lower level of redemptions.
Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock, shares 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. 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 often takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
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Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital, 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 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.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved, If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following January 14, 2026 (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 equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Financial Position
With funds available for a business combination initially in the amount of approximately $289,500,000 after payment of $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting commissions, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt ratio. Because we are able to complete our 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
General
We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations for an indefinite period of time. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our equity, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
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If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A ordinary shares, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-business combination 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 current basis for investors in us to evaluate the possible merits or risks of the target business with which we may ultimately complete our initial business combination. Although our management will assess the risks inherent in a particular target business with which we may combine, we cannot assure you that this assessment will result in our identifying all risks that a target business may encounter.
Furthermore, some of those risks may be outside of our control, meaning that we can do nothing to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely affect a target business.
Sources of Target Businesses
Target business candidates are brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment market participants, private equity groups, investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms and large business enterprises. Target businesses may be brought to our attention by such unaffiliated sources as a result of being solicited by us through calls or mailings. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since some of these sources will have read this report and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as their affiliates, may also bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we expect to receive a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors. Although we do not presently anticipate engaging the services of professional firms or other individuals that specialize in business acquisitions on any formal basis, we may engage these firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers, or their respective affiliates, be paid by us any finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, we may pay any of our existing directors who are not also officers, or any entity with which they are affiliated, a finder’s fee, consulting fee or other compensation in connection with identifying, investigating and completing our initial business combination, to the extent such payment is in compliance with all laws and is consistent with independent director requirements. Such payment may be paid from the proceeds held in the trust account upon consummation of an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-business combination company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an acquisition candidate.
We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor, Founder, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with our sponsor or any of our Founder, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that such initial business combination is fair to our Company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including entities that are affiliates of our sponsor, pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a due diligence review which may encompass, as applicable and among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews, interviews of customers and suppliers, inspection of facilities (subject to any applicable COVID restrictions) and a review of financial and other information about the target and its industry. We will also utilize our management team’s operational and capital planning experience. If we determine to move forward with a particular target, we will proceed to structure and negotiate the terms of the business combination transaction.
The time required to select and evaluate a target business and to structure and complete our initial business combination, and the costs associated with this process, are not currently ascertainable with any degree of certainty. Any costs incurred with respect to the identification and evaluation of, and negotiation with, a prospective target business with which our initial business combination is not ultimately completed will result in our incurring losses and will reduce the funds we can use to complete another business combination. We will not pay any consulting fees to members of our management team, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered to or in connection with our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Lack of Business Diversification
For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:
| ➤ | subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination; and |
| ➤ | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’s management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.
We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Following a business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
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Shareholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a shareholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC subject to the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. However, we will seek shareholder approval if it is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we may decide to seek shareholder approval for business or other reasons.
Under Nasdaq’s listing rules, shareholder approval would typically be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| ➤ | We issue ordinary shares that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of our ordinary shares then-outstanding (other than in a public offering); |
| ➤ | Any of our directors, officers or substantial security holder (as defined by Nasdaq rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively having a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of ordinary shares could result in an increase in issued and outstanding ordinary shares or voting power of 5% or more; 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 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 and Other Transactions with Respect to 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, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination.
Additionally, at any time at or prior to our initial business combination, subject to applicable securities laws (including with respect to material non-public information), our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may enter into transactions with investors and others to provide them with incentives to acquire public shares, vote their public shares in favor of our initial business combination or not redeem their public shares. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will be restricted from making any such purchases when they are in possession of any material non-public information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights or submitted a proxy to vote against our initial business combination, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares and any proxy to vote against our initial business combination. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will be required to comply with such rules.
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The purpose of any such transaction could be to (i) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (ii) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (iii) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the shareholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated transactions by either the shareholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by shareholders (in the case of Class A ordinary shares) following our mailing of tender offer or 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 transaction, they would identify and contact only potential selling or redeeming 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 but only if such shares have not already been voted at the general meeting related to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, executive officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will select which shareholders to purchase shares from based on the negotiated price and number of shares and any other factors that they may deem relevant, and will be restricted from purchasing shares if such purchases do not comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will be restricted from making purchases of shares if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. We expect any such purchases would be reported by such person pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers 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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. As of December 31, 2021, the amount in the trust account was approximately $300,075,000, or approximately $10.00 per outstanding Class A ordinary share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. There will be no redemption rights upon the completion of our initial business combination with respect to our warrants. Further, we will not proceed with redeeming our public shares, even if a public shareholder has properly elected to redeem its shares, if a business combination does not close. Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or during any longer period approved by our shareholders as an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (an “Extension Period”) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
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Distribution of Distributable Redeemable Warrants to Holders of Class A Ordinary Shares Not Electing Redemption
At the distribution time, we will effect a distribution of a number of warrants up to the Aggregate Warrant Amount, as follows: (i) to the extent that no public shareholders redeem their public shares in connection with our initial business combination, each public shareholder will receive one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant per public share held and (ii) to the extent that any public shareholders redeem any of their public shares in connection with our initial business combination, then (A) one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant will be distributed to the holder of each non-redeemed (or “remaining”) public share and (B) no distributable redeemable warrants will be distributed in respect of any public shares that were redeemed.
Public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights are not entitled to receive any distribution of distributable redeemable warrants in respect of such redeemed public shares. If any such redemptions occur, the distributable redeemable warrants attached to the redeemed public shares will not be redistributed. The contingent right to receive distributable redeemable warrants will remain attached to our Class A ordinary shares, will not be separately transferrable, assignable or salable and will not be evidenced by any certificate or instrument.
Our distributable redeemable warrants are otherwise identical to our detachable redeemable warrants, including with respect to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. No fractional distributable redeemable warrants will be issued, no cash will be paid in lieu of fractional distributable redeemable warrants and only whole warrants will trade. The distributable redeemable warrants will be fungible with our detachable redeemable warrants and will become tradable upon their distribution under the same stock symbol as the detachable redeemable warrants.
Limitations on Redemptions
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). However, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Class A ordinary shares upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a general meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or whether we were deemed to be a foreign private issuer (which would require a tender offer rather than seeking shareholder approval under SEC rules). Asset acquisitions and share purchases would not typically require shareholder approval while direct mergers with our Company where we do not survive and any transactions where we 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 typically require shareholder approval. We currently intend to conduct redemptions in connection with a shareholder vote unless shareholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement or we choose to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC for business or other reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on Nasdaq, we will be required to comply with Nasdaq rules.
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If we held a shareholder vote to approve our initial business combination, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| ➤ | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| ➤ | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public shareholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of our initial business combination.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote founder shares and public shares of theirs, if any, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial purchaser’s founder shares, we would need 11,250,000, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 1,875,000, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in our IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Each public shareholder may elect to redeem their public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction or vote at all. In addition, our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of a business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or during any Extension Period or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association:
| ➤ | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers; and |
| ➤ | 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, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, if we elect to conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, we and our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase Class A ordinary shares in the open market, in order to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.
In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public shareholders not tendering more than the number of public shares we are permitted to redeem. If public shareholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete such initial business combination.
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Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of Our Initial Business Combination If We Seek Shareholder Approval
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than 4,500,000 Class A ordinary shares, or an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO, which we refer to as “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. We believe this restriction will discourage shareholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public shareholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us, our sponsor or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our shareholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our IPO without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of shareholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash.
However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Share Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
Public shareholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” will be required to either tender their certificates (if any) to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, mailed to such holders, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using The Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option, in each case up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote to approve the business combination. The proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate the applicable delivery requirements, which will include the requirement that a beneficial holder must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Accordingly, a public shareholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short period in which to exercise redemption rights, it is advisable for shareholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker a fee of approximately $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.
The foregoing is different from the procedures used by many blank check companies. In order to perfect redemption rights in connection with their business combinations, many blank check companies would distribute proxy materials for the shareholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such shareholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the shareholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s shares in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which shareholders were aware they needed to commit before the general meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming shareholder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
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Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to two business days prior to the initially scheduled vote on the proposal to approve the business combination, unless otherwise agreed to by us. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public shareholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until 24 months from the closing of our IPO.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation If No Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that we will have only 24 months from the closing of our IPO, until January 14, 2023, to consummate an initial business combination, or until the end of any Extension Period that may be proposed to and approved by our shareholders in the form of an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or any Extension Period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii) to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares they hold if we fail to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or during any Extension Period (although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any public shares they hold if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame).
Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by January 14, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement, we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time. This redemption right shall apply in the event of the approval of any such amendment, whether proposed by our sponsor, any executive officer, director or any other person.
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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 proceeds from our IPO held outside the trust account plus up to $100,000 of funds from the trust account available to us to pay dissolution expenses, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders upon our dissolution would be $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public shareholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by shareholders will not be less than $10.00. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.
Although we 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, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including, but not limited, to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. UBS Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC will not execute an agreement 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. In order to protect the amounts held in the trust account, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us (other than our independent registered public accounting firm), or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of 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.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay our income tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so in any particular instance. Accordingly, due to the potential claims of creditors, we cannot assure you that 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 our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We had access to approximately $842,000 as of December 31, 2021 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. However, any such liability would not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such shareholder.
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 or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per public share to our public shareholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, and thereby exposing itself and our Company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by January 14, 2023, (ii) in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, or (iii) if they redeem their respective shares for cash upon the completion of our initial business combination. Public shareholders who redeem their Class A ordinary shares in connection with a shareholder vote described in clause (ii) in the preceding sentence shall not be entitled to funds from the trust account upon the subsequent completion of an initial business combination or liquidation if we have not consummated an initial business combination by January 14, 2023, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a shareholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek shareholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a shareholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a shareholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such shareholder must have also exercised its redemption rights described above. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote.
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies, and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. In particular, since our incorporation a great number of blank check companies have been formed, have completed their initial public offerings and have begun searching for acquisition targets, and many or most of these blank check companies are potential competitors of ours in regard to prospective acquisition targets. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
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Employees
We currently have two executive officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the business combination process we are in. We are also being provided the services of one or more investment professionals, pursuant to the Services Agreement (as defined below). We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A ordinary shares and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.
We will provide shareholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to shareholders. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential acquisition candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with the requirements outlined above, or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential acquisition candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.
We are required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Unless we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. A target business may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We have filed a Registration Statement on Form 8-A with the SEC to voluntarily register our securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. As a result, we are subject to the rules and regulations promulgated under the Exchange Act. We have no current intention of filing a Form 15 to suspend our reporting or other obligations under the Exchange Act prior or subsequent to the consummation of our initial business combination.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company. Exempted companies are Cayman Islands companies conducting business mainly outside the Cayman Islands and, as such, are exempted from complying with certain provisions of the Companies 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 Act (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 appreciations will apply to us or our operations and, in addition, that no tax to be levied on profits, income, gains or appreciations or which is in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax will be payable (i) on or in respect of our shares, debentures or other obligations or (ii) by way of the withholding in whole or in part of a payment of dividend or other distribution of income or capital by us to our shareholders or a payment of principal or interest or other sums due under a debenture or other obligation of us.
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We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.
In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following January 14, 2026, (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 $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the aggregate worldwide market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the aggregate worldwide market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30.
Summary of Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. The occurrence of one or more of the events or circumstances described in the section entitled “Risk Factors,” alone or in combination with other events or circumstances, may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. Such risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
| ➤ | We were incorporated in November 2020 and we have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective. |
| ➤ | Past performance by our management team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us. |
| ➤ | Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination. |
| ➤ | Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash. |
| ➤ | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote. |
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| ➤ | The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target. |
| ➤ | The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure. |
| ➤ | The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months (or such later date as approved by our shareholders) after the closing of our IPO may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders. |
| ➤ | Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. |
| ➤ | If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial shareholders, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants. |
| ➤ | If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering shares, such shares may not be redeemed. |
| ➤ | You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. |
| ➤ | Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to enter into transactions in our securities and subject us and them to additional trading restrictions. |
| ➤ | You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies. |
| ➤ | Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will be issued. |
| ➤ | If the net proceeds of our IPO and the concurrent sale of private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the closing of our IPO, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and complete our initial business combination. |
| ➤ | Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere may be leading to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and may lead to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination. |
| ➤ | Conflict in Ukraine may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to identify a business combination partner and consummate a business combination on acceptable commercial terms or at all. |
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Item 1A. Risk Factors
An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this report, before making a decision to invest in our securities. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Relating to our Search for, Consummation of, or Inability to Consummate a Business Combination and Post-Business Combination Risks
Our shareholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our shareholders do not support such a combination.
We may choose not to hold a shareholder vote before we complete our initial business combination if the business combination would not require shareholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement. For instance, if we were seeking to acquire a target business where the consideration we were paying in the transaction was all cash, we would typically not be required to seek shareholder approval to complete such a transaction. Except for as required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirement, the decision as to whether we will seek shareholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek shareholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares do not approve of the business combination we complete.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor and members of our management team have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public shareholders vote.
Our sponsor owns, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our outstanding ordinary shares. Our sponsor and members of our management team also may from time to time purchase Class A ordinary shares prior to our initial business combination. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting. As a result, in addition to our initial purchaser’s founder shares, we would need 11,250,000, or 37.5% (assuming all issued and outstanding shares are voted), or 1,875,000, or 6.25% (assuming only the minimum number of shares representing a quorum are voted), of the 30,000,000 public shares sold in our IPO to be voted in favor of an initial business combination in order to have our initial business combination approved. Accordingly, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our sponsor and each member of our management team to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite shareholder approval for such initial business combination.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of any target businesses. Since our board of directors may complete a business combination without seeking shareholder approval, public shareholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such shareholder approval. Accordingly, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public shareholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
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The ability of our public shareholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public shareholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If a large number of shares are submitted for redemption, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for additional third-party financing. Raising additional third-party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to shareholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions and after such redemptions, the amount held in trust will continue to reflect our obligation to pay the entire deferred underwriting commissions.
The ability of our public shareholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your shares.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the funds in the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your shares in the open market; however, at such time our shares may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your shares in the open market.
The requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our IPO may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit the time we have in which to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets, in particular as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our shareholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must consummate an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the time frame described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
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Our working capital position and the requirement that we consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our IPO give rise to substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
At December 31, 2021, we had approximately $842,000 in cash and approximately $1,783,000 in negative working capital. We have incurred and we expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of a business combination. Further, we have until January 14, 2023 to consummate a business combination, and it is uncertain that we will be able to consummate a business combination by that date. If a business combination is not consummated by that date, we will commence a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date of our financial statements included in this report. Our financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
As the number of special purpose acquisition companies evaluating targets increases, attractive targets may become scarcer and there may be more competition for attractive targets. This could increase the cost of our initial business combination and could even result in our inability to find a target or to consummate an initial business combination.
In recent years, the number of special purpose acquisition companies that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for special purpose acquisition companies have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many special purpose acquisition companies seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration. As a result, at times, fewer attractive targets may be available, and it may require more time, more effort and more resources to identify a suitable target and to consummate an initial business combination.
In addition, because there are more special purpose acquisition companies seeking to enter into an initial business combination with available targets, the competition for available targets with attractive fundamentals or business models may increase, which could cause targets companies to demand improved financial terms. Attractive deals could also become scarcer for other reasons, such as economic or industry sector downturns, geopolitical tensions, or increases in the cost of additional capital needed to close business combinations or operate targets post-business combination. This could increase the cost of, delay or otherwise complicate or frustrate our ability to find and consummate an initial business combination, and may result in our inability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors altogether. If we are unable to consummate an initial business combination, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been distributed.
We may engage one or more of the underwriters of our IPO or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, which may include acting as a financial advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters are entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. This may cause them to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any additional services to us, including, for example, in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
We may engage one or more of our IPO underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after the IPO, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing financial advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such underwriters or affiliates fair and reasonable fees or other compensation that would be determined at that time in an arm’s-length negotiation. The underwriters are also entitled to receive deferred underwriting commissions conditioned on the completion of an initial business combination. The underwriters’, or their respective affiliates’, financial interests tied to the consummation of a business combination transaction may give rise to potential conflicts of interest in their provision of any additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
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Our search for a business combination, and any target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected by the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus was reported to have surfaced, which has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) a “Public Health Emergency of International Concern.” On January 31, 2020, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared a public health emergency for the United States to aid the U.S. healthcare community in responding to COVID-19, and on March 11, 2020 the World Health Organization characterized the outbreak as a “pandemic.” The pandemic, together with resulting voluntary and U.S. federal and state and non-U.S. governmental actions, including, without limitation, mandatory business closures, public gathering limitations, restrictions on travel and quarantines, has meaningfully disrupted the global economy and markets. Although the long-term economic fallout of COVID-19 is difficult to predict, it has and is expected to continue to have ongoing material adverse effects across many, if not all, aspects of the regional, national and global economy. The COVID-19 outbreak has and a significant outbreak of other infectious diseases could result in a widespread health crisis that could adversely affect the economies and financial markets worldwide, and the business of any potential target business with which we consummate a business combination could be materially and adversely affected. Furthermore, we may be unable to complete a business combination if continued concerns relating to COVID-19 continues to restrict travel, limit the ability to have meetings with potential investors or the target company’s personnel, vendors and services providers are unavailable to negotiate and consummate a transaction in a timely manner. The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our search for a business combination will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19 and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others. If the disruptions posed by COVID-19 or other matters of global concern continue for an extensive period of time, our ability to consummate a business combination, or the operations of a target business with which we ultimately consummate a business combination, may be materially adversely affected.
In addition, our ability to consummate a transaction may be dependent on the ability to raise equity and debt financing which may be impacted by COVID-19 and other events, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity in third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all.
We may not be able to consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our IPO, or before the end of any Extension Period that may be proposed to and approved by our shareholders in the form of an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, 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 detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless, and our distributable redeemable warrants will never have been distributed.
We may not be able to find a suitable target business and consummate an initial business combination within 24 months after the closing of our IPO, or until the end of any Extension Period that may be proposed to and approved by our shareholders in the form of an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to grow both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future 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 consummated an initial business combination within such applicable time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders’ rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining shareholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to our obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law. In either such case, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less than $10.00 per public share, on the redemption of their shares, our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been distributed.
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If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, our public shareholders may be forced to wait beyond such 24 months before redemption from our trust account.
If we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, the proceeds then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), will be used to fund the redemption of our public shares, as further described herein. Any redemption of public shareholders from the trust account will be effected automatically by function of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association prior to any voluntary winding up. If we are required to wind up, liquidate the trust account and distribute such amount therein, pro rata, to our public shareholders, as part of any liquidation process, such winding up, liquidation and distribution must comply with the applicable provisions of the Companies Law. In that case, investors may be forced to wait beyond 24 months from the closing of our IPO before the redemption proceeds of our trust account become available to them, and they receive the return of their pro rata portion of the proceeds from our trust account. We have no obligation to return funds to investors prior to the date of our redemption or liquidation unless, prior thereto, we consummate our initial business combination or amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, and only then in cases where investors have sought to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. Only upon our redemption or any liquidation will public shareholders be entitled to distributions if we do not complete our initial business combination and do not amend certain provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, if we wind up for any other reason prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, we will follow the foregoing procedures with respect to the liquidation of the trust account as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, subject to applicable Cayman Islands law.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase public shares or warrants, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or detachable redeemable 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 funds in the trust account will be used to purchase public shares or warrants in such transactions.
In the event that our sponsor, directors, executive officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public shareholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling shareholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of any such transaction could be to (1) vote in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining shareholder approval of the business combination, (2) reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination or (3) satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A ordinary shares or public warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
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If a shareholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the proxy rules or tender offer rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a shareholder fails to receive our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, such shareholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly redeem or tender public shares. In the event that a shareholder fails to comply with these procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. Therefore, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public shareholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those Class A ordinary shares that such shareholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO 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 our IPO, 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 our IPO, with respect to such Class A ordinary shares so redeemed. In no other circumstances will a public shareholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
The provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association that relate to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of a special resolution which requires the approval of the holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our shareholders may not support.
Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter which prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to the rights of a company’s shareholders, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s shareholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions typically requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s shareholders. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that any of its provisions related to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our IPO and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public shareholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by special resolution, meaning holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of at least 65% of our ordinary shares; provided that the provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association governing the appointment or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination may only be amended by a special resolution passed by not less than two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at our general meeting which shall include the affirmative vote of a simple majority of our Class B ordinary shares. Our sponsor and its 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 our IPO (assuming they do not purchase any units in our IPO), 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.
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Our sponsor, executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to agreements with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares, unless we provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their Class A ordinary shares upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares. Our shareholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, executive officers 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.
We may amend the terms of the contingent rights in a way that may be adverse to holders with the consent or vote of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the then outstanding contingent rights, as evidenced by their ownership of the ordinary shares.
Our contingent rights have been issued under a contingent rights agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as rights agent, and us. The contingent rights agreement provides that the terms of the contingent rights may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of curing any ambiguity, or of curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision contained therein or adding or changing any other provision with respect to matters or questions arising under the contingent rights agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable. The contingent rights agreement requires the consent or vote of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the then outstanding contingent rights, as evidenced by their ownership of the ordinary shares, in order to make any change that will adversely affect the interests of the holders of the contingent rights. As a result, a change that is approved by two-third of the holders of the contingent rights, as evidenced by their ownership of the ordinary shares, could adversely affect your contingent rights, without your approval.
We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to redeem for cash a significant number of shares from shareholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. The current economic environment may make it difficult for companies to obtain acquisition financing. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or shareholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination.
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You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we will have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants and have filed a current report on Form 8-K, including an audited balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means our units will be immediately tradable and we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our IPO had been 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.
Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, we are obligated to offer holders of our public shares the right to redeem their shares for cash at the time of our initial business combination in conjunction with a shareholder vote or via a tender offer. Target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. Any of these obligations may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
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If the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate for the 24 months following the closing of our IPO, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and our ability to complete our initial business combination, and we will depend on loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team to fund our search and to complete our initial business combination.
Of the net proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, over $1,350,000 will be available to us initially outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. We believe that, upon the closing of our IPO, the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team will be sufficient to allow us to operate for at least the 24 months following the closing of our IPO; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate, and our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team are under no obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Of the funds available to us, we expect to use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies or investors on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business.
If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, its affiliates, members of our management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. Neither our sponsor, members of our management team nor their affiliates is under any obligation to us in such circumstances. Any such advances may be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public shareholders may only receive $10.00 per public share, or possibly less, on our redemption of our public shares, our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may affect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target business’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target business’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The loss of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
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A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike most blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional Class A ordinary shares or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per ordinary share, (ii) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than 60% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of our initial business combination on the date of the consummation of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (iii) the Market Value is below $9.20 per share, then the exercise price of the warrants will be adjusted to be equal to 115% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger prices described in the prospectus for our IPO under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00” and “Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described in the prospectus for our IPO under “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will identify all material issues with a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our shareholders’ investment in us.
Although we have no commitments as of the date of this report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt following our IPO, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We and our officers have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:
| ➤ | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| ➤ | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| ➤ | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt is payable on demand; |
| ➤ | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt is outstanding; |
| ➤ | our inability to pay dividends on our Class A ordinary shares; |
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| ➤ | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our Class A ordinary shares if declared, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; |
| ➤ | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| ➤ | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and |
| ➤ | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
The proceeds from our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants, after deducting underwriting commissions and estimated offering expenses, will provide us with up to $290,850,000 that we may use to complete our initial business combination (after taking into account the $10,500,000 of deferred underwriting commissions being held in the trust account and the estimated expenses of our IPO).
We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single-target business or multiple-target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry.
Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| ➤ | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| ➤ | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
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We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
Because we must furnish our shareholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.
Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. Upon the loss of control of a target business, new management may not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure our initial business combination so that the post-business combination company in which our public shareholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-business combination company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target business sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-business combination company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our shareholders prior to our initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock, shares or other equity interests of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new Class A ordinary shares, our shareholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding Class A ordinary shares subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority shareholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s shares than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
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To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete our initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our shareholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association do not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 either prior to or upon consummation of an initial business combination (so that we do not then become subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public shareholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all Class A ordinary shares that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all Class A ordinary shares submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our shareholders may not support.
In order to effectuate a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association requires at least a special resolution of our shareholders as a matter of Cayman Islands law, meaning the approval of holders of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares who attend and vote at a general meeting of the Company, and amending our warrant agreement will require a vote of holders of at least 50% of the public warrants. In addition solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, a vote of holders of 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants is required. In addition, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association require us to provide our public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares. To the extent any of such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any of our outstanding public securities, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities.
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If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per public share.
Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public shareholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements, they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third-party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third-party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third-party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third-party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third-party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we have not consummated an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the ten years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public shareholders could be less than the $10.00 per public share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to the letter agreement the form of which is filed as an exhibit to this report, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third-party (other than our independent registered public accounting firm) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amounts in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third-party or prospective target business that executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third-party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and we believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our Company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. As a result, if any such claims were successfully made against the trust account, the funds available for our initial business combination and redemptions could be reduced to less than $10.00 per public share. In such event, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination, and you would receive such lesser amount per share in connection with any redemption of your public shares. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.00 per public share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest that may be withdrawn to pay our tax obligations, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per public share.
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We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever (except to the extent they are entitled to funds from the trust account due to their ownership of public shares). Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage shareholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our shareholders. Furthermore, a shareholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy or insolvency court may seek to recover such proceeds, and the members of our board of directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to our creditors, thereby exposing the members of our board of directors and us to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy or insolvency laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy or insolvency court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our shareholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public shareholders, we file a bankruptcy or insolvency petition or an involuntary bankruptcy or insolvency petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy or insolvency law, and may be included in our bankruptcy or insolvency estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our shareholders. To the extent any bankruptcy or insolvency claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our shareholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.
Our shareholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
If we are forced to enter into an insolvent liquidation, any distributions received by shareholders could be viewed as an unlawful payment if it was proved that immediately following the date on which the distribution was made, we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business. As a result, a liquidator could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our shareholders. Furthermore, our directors may be viewed as having breached their fiduciary duties to us or our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing themselves and our Company to claims, by paying public shareholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons. We and our directors and officers who knowingly and willfully authorized or permitted any distribution to be paid out of our share premium account while we were unable to pay our debts as they fall due in the ordinary course of business would be guilty of an offence and may be liable for a fine of $18,292.68 and imprisonment for five years in the Cayman Islands.
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We may not hold an annual general meeting until after the consummation of our initial business combination.
In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. There is no requirement under the Companies Law for us to hold annual or extraordinary general meetings to appoint directors. Until we hold an annual general meeting, public shareholders may not be afforded the opportunity to appoint directors and to discuss Company affairs with management. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being appointed in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term.
Holders of Class A ordinary shares will not be entitled to vote on any appointment of directors prior to our initial business combination.
Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares will not be entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. In addition, prior to our initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason. Accordingly, you may not have any say in the management of our Company prior to the consummation of an initial business combination.
Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
Because we are neither limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector nor have we selected any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.
We may pursue business combination opportunities in any sector, except that we will not, under our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination solely with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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We may seek acquisition opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.
We will consider a business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if a business combination target is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our Company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination target, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in us than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination target. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any holders who choose to retain their securities following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of shareholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if shareholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain shareholder approval for business or other reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain shareholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent accounting or investment banking firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions that the price we are paying is fair to our shareholders from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our shareholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and such reincorporation may result in taxes imposed on shareholders.
We may, in connection with our initial business combination and subject to requisite shareholder approval under the Companies Law, reincorporate in the jurisdiction in which the target company or business is located or in another jurisdiction. The transaction may require a shareholder or warrant holder to recognize taxable income in the jurisdiction in which the shareholder or warrant holder is a tax resident or in which its members are resident if it is a tax transparent entity. We do not intend to make any cash distributions to shareholders or warrant holders to pay such taxes.
Shareholders or warrant holders may be subject to withholding taxes or other taxes with respect to their ownership of us after the reincorporation.
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Risks Relating to our Sponsor and Management Team
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our key personnel, at least until we have consummated our initial business combination. None of our officers are required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, they will have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote more substantial amounts of time to their other business activities, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs and could have a negative impact on our ability to consummate our initial business combination. In addition, we do not have employment agreements with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our officers. The unexpected loss of the services of our key personnel could have a detrimental effect on us.
The role of our key personnel after our initial business combination, however, remains to be determined. Although some of our key personnel serve in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that most, if not all, of the management of the target business will remain in place. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a public company which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their loss could adversely affect our ability to operate.
Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. In addition, our executive officers and directors are not required to commit any specified amount of time to our affairs and, accordingly, will have conflicts of interest in allocating their time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers.
The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.
Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination, and a particular business combination may be conditioned on the retention or resignation of such key personnel. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.
Our key personnel may be able to remain with our Company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. Such negotiations also could make such key personnel’s retention or resignation a condition to any such agreement. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. In addition, pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of our IPO, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement filed as an exhibit to this report.
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Since our sponsor, executive officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed (other than with respect to public shares they may acquire), a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
On November 11, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our IPO and formation costs in consideration of 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. On January 11, 2021, we effected a share capitalization resulting in our sponsor holding 7,500,000 Class B ordinary shares. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our sponsor, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The per-share price of the founder shares was determined by dividing the amount contributed to the Company by the number of founder shares issued. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor has purchased 5,566,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment, at a price of $1.50 per warrant ($8,350,000 in the aggregate). If we do not consummate an initial business within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. The personal and financial interests of our executive officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following our initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the 24-month anniversary of the closing of our IPO nears, which is generally the deadline for our consummation of an initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors will allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our executive officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our executive officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation, and our executive officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. Our independent directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. If our executive officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors presently have, and any of them in the future may have, additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities, including another blank check company, and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of our IPO and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses or entities. Each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have, additional fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is or will be required to present a business combination opportunity to such entity, subject to his or her fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us, subject to their fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law.
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In addition, our Founder, sponsor, officers and directors may in the future become affiliated with other blank check companies that may have acquisition objectives that are similar to ours. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to such other blank check companies prior to its presentation to us, subject to our officers’ and directors’ fiduciary duties under Cayman Islands law. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law: (i) no individual serving as a director or an officer shall have any duty, except and to the extent expressly assumed by contract, to refrain from engaging directly or indirectly in the same or similar business activities or lines of business as us; and (ii) we renounce any interest or expectancy in, or being offering an opportunity to participate in, any potential transaction or matter which may be a corporate opportunity for any director or officer, on the one hand, and us, on the other.
Our executive officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, executive officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. Nor do we have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
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 a business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, executive officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities, including, without limitation, those described under “Management—Conflicts of Interest.” Our Founder, sponsor, officers and directors may sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our Founder, sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no substantive discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria and guidelines for a business combination as set forth in “Proposed Business—Effecting Our Initial Business Combination—Evaluation of a Target Business and Structuring of Our Initial Business Combination” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our independent and disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or another independent entity that commonly renders valuation opinions regarding the fairness to our Company from a financial point of view of a business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our sponsor, executive officers or directors, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the business combination may not be as advantageous to our public shareholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
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Our sponsor controls a substantial interest in us and thus may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our sponsor owns, on an as-converted basis, 20% of our issued and outstanding ordinary shares. Accordingly, it may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a shareholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If our sponsor purchases any additional Class A ordinary shares in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase its control. Neither our sponsor nor, to our knowledge, any of our officers or directors, have any current intention to purchase additional securities, other than as disclosed in this report. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were appointed by our sponsor, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being appointed in each year. We may not hold an annual general meeting to appoint new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the business combination. If there is an annual general meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for appointment and our sponsor, because of its ownership position, will control the outcome, as only holders of our Class B ordinary shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors and to remove directors prior to our initial business combination. In addition, the founder shares, all of which are held by our sponsor, will, in a vote to transfer the Company by way of continuation out of the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction (which requires the approval of at least two thirds of the votes of all ordinary shares), entitle the holders to ten votes for every founder share. This provision of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association may only be amended by a special resolution passed by a majority of at least two-thirds of our ordinary shares voting in a general meeting. As a result, you will not have any influence over our continuation in a jurisdiction outside the Cayman Islands prior to our initial business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor.
Risks Relating to Our Securities
The securities in which we invest the proceeds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the interest income available for payment of taxes or reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per share redemption amount received by shareholders may be less than $10.00 per share.
The net proceeds of our IPO and certain proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants, in the amount of $275,000,000, will be held in an interest-bearing trust account. The proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in direct U.S. Treasury obligations having a maturity of 185 days or less, or in certain money market funds which invest only in direct U.S. Treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. Treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event of very low or negative yields, the amount of interest income (which we may withdraw to pay income taxes, if any) would be reduced. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public shareholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income. If the balance of the trust account is reduced below $275,000,000 as a result of negative interest rates, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public shareholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| ➤ | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| ➤ | restrictions on the issuance of securities, |
each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| ➤ | registration as an investment company with the SEC; |
| ➤ | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
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| ➤ | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations that we are currently not subject to. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. Our securities are 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 either: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares; or (iii) absent our completing an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our IPO, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public shareholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period, our public shareholders may receive only $10.00 per public share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account, our detachable redeemable warrants will expire worthless and no distributable redeemable warrants will have been issued.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of shareholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A ordinary shares.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our IPO, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares,” without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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Nasdaq may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We have been approved to have our units listed on Nasdaq and to have our Class A ordinary shares and detachable redeemable warrants listed on or promptly after their date of separation. Although after giving effect to our IPO we expect to meet, on a pro forma basis, the minimum initial listing standards set forth in Nasdaq listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on Nasdaq in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and share price levels, such as a minimum market capitalization (generally $50,000,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 400 public holders).
Additionally, our units will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination and, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with Nasdaq’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on Nasdaq. For instance, our share price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share and our shareholder’s equity would generally be required to be at least $4.0 million. We may not be able to meet those listing requirements at that time, especially if there are a significant number of redemptions in connection with our initial business combination.
If Nasdaq 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 our units are and eventually our Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants will be listed on Nasdaq, our units, Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants will qualify as covered securities under the statute. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of covered securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on Nasdaq, our securities would not qualify as covered securities under the statute and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
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We may issue additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares upon the conversion of the founder shares at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our shareholders and likely present other risks.
Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association authorize the issuance of up to 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per share, and 5,000,000 preference shares, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 470,000,000 and 42,500,000 authorized but unissued Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares, respectively, available for issuance which amount does not take into account shares reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants or shares issuable upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares, if any. The Class B ordinary shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof as described herein and in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. There are no preference shares issued and outstanding.
We may issue a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares or preference shares to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redeeming the warrants as described in “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants” or 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 as set forth herein. However, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide, among other things, that prior to or in connection with our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination or on any other proposal presented to shareholders prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, like all provisions of our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, may be amended with a shareholder vote. The issuance of additional ordinary or preference shares:
| ➤ | may significantly dilute the equity interest of existing investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; |
| ➤ | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; |
| ➤ | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of Class A ordinary shares are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| ➤ | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the share ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| ➤ | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A ordinary shares and/or warrants; and |
| ➤ | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
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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 and potentially causing such warrants to 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 soon as practicable, but in no event later than 20 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement covering the issuance of such shares, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current, complete or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act in accordance with the above requirements, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of Class A ordinary shares that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Exercising the warrants on a cashless basis could have the effect of reducing the potential “upside” of the holder’s investment in our Company because the warrant holder will hold a smaller number of Class A ordinary shares upon a cashless exercise of the warrants they hold. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and no exemption is available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant shall not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the Class A ordinary shares included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of our public warrants. In such an instance, our sponsor and its permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the ordinary shares underlying their warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying ordinary shares. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying Class A ordinary shares for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
The warrants may become exercisable and redeemable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, and you will not have any information regarding such other security at this time.
In certain situations, including if we are not the surviving entity in our initial business combination, the warrants may become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares. As a result, if the surviving company redeems your warrants for securities pursuant to the warrant agreement, you may receive a security in a company of which you do not have information at this time. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, the surviving company will be required to use commercially reasonable efforts to register the issuance of the security underlying the warrants within twenty business days of the closing of an initial business combination.
If you elect to exercise your redemption rights with respect to your Class A ordinary shares, you will not receive any distributable redeemable warrants.
In connection with our initial business combination, public shareholders will have the opportunity to exercise their right to redeem their Class A ordinary shares. However, our distributable redeemable warrants will be distributed only to the holders of record of those Class A ordinary shares that remain outstanding after such redemptions. Accordingly, to the extent that you elect to redeem your Class A ordinary shares, you will receive no distributable redeemable warrants in respect of such shares. The contingent right to receive distributable redeemable warrants will remain attached to our Class A ordinary shares, will not be separately transferable, assignable or salable and will not be evidenced by any certificate or instrument.
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The grant of registration rights to our sponsor may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A ordinary shares.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of our IPO, our sponsor and its permitted transferees can demand that we register the resale of the Class A ordinary shares into which founder shares are convertible, the private placement warrants and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of such warrants. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the shareholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our securities that is expected when the securities owned by our sponsor or its permitted transferees are registered for resale.
Our warrants are expected to be accounted for as derivative liabilities and will be recorded at fair value upon issuance with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We account for both the warrants underlying the units sold in our IPO, and the private placement warrants, as a warrant liability in accordance with the guidance contained in Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (ASC 815- 40). Such guidance provides that because the warrants do not meet the criteria for equity treatment thereunder, each warrant must be recorded as a liability. At each reporting period (1) the accounting treatment of the warrants will be re-evaluated for proper accounting treatment as a liability or equity and (2) the fair value of the liability of the public and private warrants will be remeasured and the change in the fair value of the liability will be recorded as other income (expense) in our income statement. Changes in the inputs and assumptions for the valuation model we use to determine the fair value of such liability may have a material impact on the estimated fair value of the embedded derivative liability. The price of our ordinary shares represents the primary underlying variable that impacts the value of the derivative instruments. Additional factors that impact the value of the derivative instruments include the volatility of our ordinary share price, discount rates and stated interest rates. As a result, our financial statements and results of operations will fluctuate quarterly, based on various factors, such as the price of our ordinary shares, many of which factors are outside our control. In addition, we may change the underlying assumptions used in our valuation model, which could in result in significant fluctuations in our results of operations. If our ordinary share price is volatile, we expect that we may recognize non-cash gains or losses on our warrants or any other similar derivative instruments each reporting period, and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. The impact of changes in fair value on earnings may have an adverse effect on the market price of our ordinary shares. In addition, potential targets may seek a special purpose acquisition company that does not have warrants that are accounted for as a liability, which may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Unlike some other similarly structured blank check companies, our sponsor will receive additional Class A ordinary shares if we issue shares to consummate an initial business combination.
The founder shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares (which such Class A ordinary shares delivered upon conversion will not have any redemption rights or be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account if we fail to consummate an initial business combination) at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof at a ratio such that the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable upon conversion of all founder shares will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of (i) the total number of our ordinary shares issued and outstanding, plus (ii) the total number of Class A ordinary shares issued or deemed issued or issuable upon conversion or exercise of any equity-linked securities or rights issued or deemed issued, by the Company in connection with or in relation to the consummation of our 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 our initial business combination and any private placement warrants issued to our sponsor, any of its affiliates or any members of our management team upon conversion of working capital loans. In no event will the Class B ordinary shares convert into Class A ordinary shares at a rate of less than one-to-one. This is different than some other similarly structured blank check companies in which our sponsor will only be issued an aggregate of 20% of the total number of shares to be outstanding prior to our initial business combination.
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We may amend the terms of the redeemable warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the redeemable warrants could be converted into cash or Class A ordinary shares (at a ratio different than initially provided), the exercise period could be shortened and the number of our Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our redeemable 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 redeemable warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correcting any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus for our IPO, or defective provision (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding redeemable warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of redeemable warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the redeemable warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding redeemable warrants approve of such amendment, and, solely with respect to any amendment to the terms of the private placement warrants or any provision of the warrant agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, 50% of the number of the then outstanding private placement warrants. Although our ability to amend the terms of the redeemable warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then-outstanding redeemable 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 Class A ordinary shares (at a ratio different than initially provided), shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of Class A ordinary shares purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement will designate the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our Company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This choice-of-forum provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our Company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and board of directors.
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We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described in the prospectus for our IPO under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise the warrants. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you to (i) exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, we expect would be substantially less than the market value of your warrants.
In addition, we have the ability to redeem the outstanding public warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant as described in the prospectus for our IPO under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Anti-dilution Adjustments”) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to proper notice of such redemption and provided that certain other conditions are met, including that holders will be able to exercise their warrants prior to redemption for a number of Class A ordinary shares determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A ordinary shares. See the discussion in the prospectus for our IPO under the heading “Description of Securities—Warrants—Public Shareholders’ Warrants—Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00.” The value received upon exercise of the warrants (1) may be less than the value the holders would have received if they had exercised their warrants at a later time where the underlying share price is higher and (2) may not compensate the holders for the value of the warrants, including because the number of ordinary shares received is capped at 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment) irrespective of the remaining life of the warrants.
Our warrants may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A ordinary shares and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.
We have issued detachable redeemable warrants to purchase 5,000,000 Class A ordinary shares as part of the units offered in our IPO and 5,566,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. In addition, if our sponsor, its affiliates or a member of our management team makes any working capital loans, it may convert up to $2,000,000 of such loans into up to an additional 1,333,333 private placement warrants, at the price of $1.50 per warrant. We may also issue Class A ordinary shares in connection with our redemption of our warrants.
To the extent we issue ordinary shares for any reason, including to effectuate a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional Class A ordinary shares upon exercise of these warrants could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Such warrants, when exercised, will increase the number of issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares and reduce the value of the Class A ordinary shares issued to complete the business transaction. Therefore, our warrants may make it more difficult to effectuate a business transaction or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
Because each unit contains one-sixth 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-sixth of one detachable redeemable warrant. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, no fractional redeemable warrants will be issued upon separation of the units, and only whole warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder. In addition, although holders of Class A ordinary shares who elect not to redeem such shares in connection with our initial business combination will also receive a distribution of redeemable warrants in the form of distributable redeemable warrants, it may be that the number of distributable redeemable warrants issuable to any such holder, with or without any fractional detachable redeemable warrants they may hold, will not constitute a whole warrant. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one ordinary share and one whole warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the detachable redeemable warrants and the distributable redeemable warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-third of the number of shares, compared to units that each contain a whole warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if a unit included a warrant to purchase one whole share.
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The market for our securities may not develop sufficiently and remain sufficiently active, which would adversely affect the liquidity and price of our securities.
The price of our securities may vary significantly due to one or more potential business combinations and general market or economic conditions, including as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. An active trading market for our securities may never develop sufficiently or, if developed, it may not be sustained. You may be unable to sell your securities unless a sufficiently active trading market can be sustained.
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.
Our sponsor paid an aggregate of $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per founder share, and, accordingly, holders of our Class A ordinary shares have experienced immediate and substantial dilution upon their purchase of our Class A ordinary shares.
The difference between the market price per share of our Class A ordinary shares (allocating all of the unit purchase price to the Class A ordinary shares and none to the warrants included in the unit) and the pro forma net tangible book value per share of our Class A ordinary shares constitutes dilution to holders of our Class A ordinary shares. Our sponsor acquired the founder shares at a nominal price, contributing significantly to this dilution. This dilution 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 conversion of the Class B ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination, and would further increase to the extent that public shareholders seek redemptions from the trust. In addition, because of the anti-dilution protections provided in the founder shares to the holders of such shares, any equity or equity-linked securities issued in connection with our initial business combination would be disproportionately dilutive to our Class A ordinary shares.
The nominal purchase price paid by our sponsor for the founder shares may result in significant dilution to the implied value of your public shares upon the consummation of our initial business combination.
We offered our units at an offering price of $10.00 per unit and the amount in our trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share, implying an initial value of $10.00 per public share. However, prior to the IPO, our sponsor paid a nominal aggregate purchase price of $25,000 for the founder shares, or approximately $0.003 per share. As a result, the value of your public shares may be significantly diluted upon the consummation of our initial business combination, when the founder shares are converted into public shares.
The value of the founder shares following completion of our initial business combination is likely to be substantially higher than the nominal price paid for them, even if the trading price of our ordinary shares at such time is substantially less than $10.00 per share.
Upon the closing of our IPO, our sponsor had invested in us an aggregate of $8,375,000, comprised of the $25,000 purchase price for the 7,500,000 founder shares and the $8,350,000 purchase price for the 5,566,667 private placement warrants. Assuming a trading price of $10.00 per ordinary share upon consummation of our initial business combination, the 7,500,000 founder shares would have an aggregate implied value of $75,000,000. As a result, our sponsor may be able to recoup its investment in us and make a substantial profit on that investment, even if our public shares have lost significant value, even though, consistent with the vesting terms to which the founder shares are subject, our sponsor will not be able to realize more than half the value of its investment unless the trading price of the ordinary shares rises beyond $10.00 per share following the consummation of our initial business combination. Accordingly, our sponsor, and our management team, which owns interests in our sponsor, may have an economic incentive that differs from that of the public shareholders to pursue and consummate an initial business combination rather than to liquidate and return the cash in trust to our public shareholders, even if that business combination were with a riskier or less-established target business. For the foregoing reasons, you should consider our sponsor’s and management team’s financial incentive to complete an initial business combination when evaluating whether to redeem your shares prior to or in connection with an initial business combination.
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Additional Risk Factors
We were incorporated in November 2020 and we have no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We were incorporated in November 2020 under the laws of the Cayman Islands and we have no operating history and no revenues. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Past performance by our management team or their respective affiliates may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us or in the future performance of any business we may acquire.
Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, our management team and their respective affiliates is presented for informational purposes only, including information regarding the performance of Purple. Any past experience or performance of our management team and their respective affiliates is not a guarantee of either (i) our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction or (ii) success with respect to any business combination that we may consummate. You should not rely on the historical record of our management team or their respective affiliates as indicative of the future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward.
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.
Since only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors, upon the listing of our shares on Nasdaq, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq rules and, as a result, we may qualify for exemptions from certain corporate governance requirements.
Only holders of our founder shares will have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. As a result, Nasdaq may consider us to be a “controlled company” within the meaning of Nasdaq corporate governance standards. Under Nasdaq corporate governance standards, a company of which more than 50% of the voting power is held by an individual, group or another company is a “controlled company” and may elect not to comply with certain corporate governance requirements, including the requirements that:
| ➤ | we have a board that includes a majority of “independent directors,” as defined under the rules of Nasdaq; |
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| ➤ | we have a compensation committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities; and |
| ➤ | we have a nominating and corporate governance committee of our board that is comprised entirely of independent directors with a written charter addressing the committee’s purpose and responsibilities. |
We do not intend to utilize these exemptions and intend to comply with the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq, subject to applicable phase-in rules. However, if we determine in the future to utilize some or all of these exemptions, you will not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to all of Nasdaq corporate governance requirements.
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. 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 rules and regulations by various national, regional and local governments. In particular, we will be required to comply with rules and regulations of SEC, which is charged with the protection of investors and the oversight of companies whose securities are publicly traded, as well as to new and evolving regulatory measures under applicable law. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Our efforts to comply with new and changing laws and regulations could also result in 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. Those changes could also have a material adverse effect on our business. 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. If we fail to address and comply with applicable law and regulations and any subsequent changes, we may be subject to penalty and our business may be harmed.
Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to effectuate a business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2021. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer and no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, will we not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target business with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The development of the internal control of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if we take advantage of certain exemptions from disclosure requirements available to “emerging growth companies” or “smaller reporting companies,” this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performance with other public companies.
We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaning of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act, and we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our shareholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or 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.
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Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.
Additionally, we are a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. Smaller reporting companies may take advantage of certain reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, providing only two years of audited financial statements. We will remain a smaller reporting company until the last day of the fiscal year in which (1) the aggregate worldwide market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues exceeded $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the aggregate worldwide market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates equals or exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30. To the extent we take advantage of such reduced disclosure obligations, it may also make comparison of our financial statements with other public companies difficult or impossible.
Changes in the market for directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate and complete an initial business combination.
In recent months, the market for directors and officers liability insurance for special purpose acquisition companies has changed. Fewer insurance companies are offering quotes for directors and officers liability coverage, the premiums charged for such policies have generally increased and the terms of such policies have generally become less favorable. There can be no assurance that these trends will not continue.
The increased cost and decreased availability of directors and officers liability insurance could make it more difficult and more expensive for us to negotiate an initial business combination. In order to obtain directors and officers liability insurance or modify its coverage as a result of becoming a public company, the post-business combination entity might need to incur greater expense, accept less favorable terms or both. However, any failure to obtain adequate directors and officers liability insurance could have an adverse impact on the post-business combination company’s ability to attract and retain qualified officers and directors.
In addition, even after we were to complete an initial business combination, our directors and officers could still be subject to potential liability from claims arising from conduct alleged to have occurred prior to the initial business combination. As a result, in order to protect our directors and officers, the post-business combination entity may need to purchase additional insurance with respect to any such claims (“run-off insurance”). The need for run-off insurance would be an added expense for the post-business combination entity, and could interfere with or frustrate our ability to consummate an initial business combination on terms favorable to our investors.
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We may be a passive foreign investment company, or “PFIC,” which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. investors.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year (or portion thereof) that is included in the holding period of a U.S. Holder (as defined in the section of the prospectus for our IPO 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 the prospectus for our IPO 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. 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, upon written request, 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 tax advisors regarding the possible application of the PFIC rules.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain or adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences.
An investment in our securities may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to our units, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the Class A ordinary shares and the one-sixth of a warrant to purchase one Class A ordinary share included in each unit could be challenged by the IRS or courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of warrants included in our units 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 the prospectus for our IPO under “Taxation—United States Federal Income Tax Considerations—General”) 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 a “qualified dividend” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See the section the prospectus for our IPO entitled “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 of purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities.
After our initial business combination, it is possible that a majority of our directors and officers will live outside the United States and all of our assets will be located outside the United States; therefore investors may not be able to enforce federal securities laws or their other legal rights.
It is possible that after our initial business combination, a majority of our directors and officers will reside outside of the United States and all of our assets will be located outside of the United States. As a result, it may be difficult, or in some cases not possible, for investors in the United States to enforce their legal rights, to effect service of process upon all of our directors or officers or to enforce judgments of United States courts predicated upon civil liabilities and criminal penalties on our directors and officers under United States laws.
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 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.
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We have been advised by Maples and Calder, our Cayman Islands legal counsel, that the courts of the Cayman Islands are unlikely (i) to recognize or enforce against us judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state; and (ii) in original actions brought in the Cayman Islands, to impose liabilities against us predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States or any state, so far as the liabilities imposed by those provisions are penal in nature. In those circumstances, although there is no statutory enforcement in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United States, the courts of the Cayman Islands will recognize and enforce a foreign money judgment of a foreign court of competent jurisdiction without retrial on the merits based on the principle that a judgment of a competent foreign court imposes upon the judgment debtor an obligation to pay the sum for which judgment has been given provided certain conditions are met. For a foreign judgment to be enforced in the Cayman Islands, such judgment must be final and conclusive and for a liquidated sum, and must not be in respect of taxes or a fine or penalty, inconsistent with a Cayman Islands judgment in respect of the same matter, impeachable on the grounds of fraud or obtained in a manner, or be of a kind the enforcement of which is, contrary to natural justice or the public policy of the Cayman Islands (awards of punitive or multiple damages may well be held to be contrary to public policy). A Cayman Islands Court may stay enforcement proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.
As a result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would as public shareholders of a United States company.
Changes in laws or regulations or how such laws or regulations are interpreted or applied, or a failure to comply with any laws or regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, and results of operations.
We are and will be subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments and, potentially, foreign jurisdictions. In particular, we will be required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements, our business combination may be contingent on our ability to comply with certain laws and regulations and any post-business combination company may be subject to additional laws and regulations. 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, including as a result of changes in economic, political, social and government policies, and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, 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.
Risks Associated with Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we pursue a target company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we may face additional burdens in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing such initial business combination, and if we effect such initial business combination, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we pursue a target a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States for our initial business combination, we would be subject to risks associated with cross-border business combinations, including in connection with investigating, agreeing to and completing our initial business combination, conducting due diligence in a foreign jurisdiction, having such transaction approved by any local governments, regulators or agencies and changes in the purchase price based on fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.
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If we effect our initial business combination with such a company, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| ➤ | costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations; |
| ➤ | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
| ➤ | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| ➤ | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| ➤ | exchange listing and/or delisting requirements; |
| ➤ | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| ➤ | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| ➤ | local or regional economic policies and market conditions; |
| ➤ | unexpected changes in regulatory requirements; |
| ➤ | longer payment cycles; |
| ➤ | tax issues, such as tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States; |
| ➤ | currency fluctuations and exchange controls; |
| ➤ | rates of inflation; |
| ➤ | challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| ➤ | cultural and language differences; |
| ➤ | employment regulations; |
| ➤ | underdeveloped or unpredictable legal or regulatory systems; |
| ➤ | corruption; |
| ➤ | protection of intellectual property; |
| ➤ | social unrest, crime, strikes, riots and civil disturbances; |
| ➤ | regime changes and political upheaval; |
| ➤ | terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; and |
| ➤ | deterioration of political relations with the United States. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, we may be unable to complete such initial business combination, or, if we complete such combination, our operations might suffer, either of which may adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
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If our management following our initial business combination is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws, which could lead to various regulatory issues.
Following our initial business combination, our management may resign from their positions as officers or directors of the Company and the management of the target business at the time of the business combination will remain in place. Management of the target business may not be familiar with United States securities laws. If new management is unfamiliar with United States securities laws, they may have to expend time and resources becoming familiar with such laws. This could be expensive and time-consuming and could lead to various regulatory issues which may adversely affect our operations.
After our initial business combination, substantially all of our assets may be located in a foreign country and substantially all of our revenue may be derived from our operations in any such country. Accordingly, our results of operations and prospects will be subject, to a significant extent, to the economic, political and social conditions and government policies, developments and conditions in the country in which we operate.
The economic, political and social conditions, as well as government policies, of the country in which our operations are located could affect our business. Economic growth could be uneven, both geographically and among various sectors of the economy and such growth may not be sustained in the future. If in the future such country’s economy experiences a downturn or grows at a slower rate than expected, there may be less demand for spending in certain industries. A decrease in demand for spending in certain industries could materially and adversely affect our ability to find an attractive target business with which to consummate our initial business combination and if we effect our initial business combination, the ability of that target business to become profitable.
Exchange rate fluctuations and currency policies may cause a target business’ ability to succeed in the international markets to be diminished.
In the event we acquire a non-U.S. target, all revenues and income would likely be received in a foreign currency, and the dollar equivalent of our net assets and distributions, if any, could be adversely affected by reductions in the value of the local currency. The value of the currencies in our target regions fluctuate and are affected by, among other things, changes in political and economic conditions. Any change in the relative value of such currency against our reporting currency may affect the attractiveness of any target business or, following consummation of our initial business combination, our financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, if a currency appreciates in value against the dollar prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, the cost of a target business as measured in dollars will increase, which may make it less likely that we are able to consummate such transaction.
We may reincorporate in another jurisdiction in connection with our initial business combination, and the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements and we may not be able to enforce our legal rights.
In connection with our initial business combination, we may relocate the home jurisdiction of our business from the Cayman Islands to another jurisdiction. If we determine to do this, the laws of such jurisdiction may govern some or all of our future material agreements. The system of laws and the enforcement of existing laws in such jurisdiction may not be as certain in implementation and interpretation as in the United States. The inability to enforce or obtain a remedy under any of our future agreements could result in a significant loss of business, business opportunities or capital.
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Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Recent increases in inflation in the United States and elsewhere may be leading to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and may lead to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Conflict in Ukraine could make it more difficult for us to consummate a business combination.
Conflict in Ukraine may lead to increased price volatility for publicly traded securities, including ours, and to other national, regional and international economic disruptions, any of which could make it more difficult for us to identify a business combination partner and consummate a business combination on acceptable commercial terms or at all.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.
Item 2. Properties
We have no physical facilities. Our officers and the investment professionals who provide services to us under the Services Agreement (as defined below) work and will continue to work remotely. Our address is 7 Rye Ridge Plaza Suite 350, Rye Brook, NY 10573. We consider these arrangements adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
There is no material litigation, arbitration or governmental proceeding currently pending against us or any members of our management team in their capacities as such.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our units, Class A ordinary shares and redeemable warrants are each traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbols “GPACU,” “GPAC” and “GPACW, respectively. Our units commenced public trading on January 12, 2021, and our Class A ordinary shares and warrants commenced public trading on March 4, 2021.
Holders
On March 17, 2022, there was one holder of record of our units, two holders of record of our Class A ordinary shares, one holder of record of our Class B ordinary shares, one holder of record of our public warrants and one holder of record of our private placement warrants.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our ordinary shares to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of our initial business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial condition subsequent to completion of our initial business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to our initial business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. In addition, our board of directors is not currently contemplating and does not anticipate declaring any share dividends in the foreseeable future. Further, if we incur any indebtedness in connection with our initial business combination, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities
None.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Item 6. Reserved
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our audited financial statements and related notes included herein.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this report including, without limitation, statements under this “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regarding the Company’s financial position, business strategy and the plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward- looking statements. When used in this report, words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend” and similar expressions, as they relate to us or the Company’s management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward- looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in our filings with the SEC. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on the Company’s behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph.
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Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on November 3, 2020 as a Cayman Islands exempted company for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our IPO and from our concurrent sale of private placement warrants, additional equity issuances, debt or a combination of cash, equity and debt.
The issuance of additional equity in connection with a business combination:
| ➤ | may significantly dilute the equity interest of existing investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B ordinary shares resulted in the issuance of Class A ordinary shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B ordinary shares; | |
| ➤ | may subordinate the rights of holders of Class A ordinary shares if preference shares are issued with rights senior to those afforded our Class A ordinary shares; | |
| ➤ | could cause a change in control if a substantial number of 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 units, 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 or otherwise incur significant debt, 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, expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes; | |
| ➤ | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; | |
| ➤ | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; and | |
| ➤ | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, execution of our strategy and other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
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As indicated in the accompanying financial statements, as of December 31, 2021, we had $842,000 of cash and approximately $1,783,000 of negative working capital. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in the pursuit of our initial business combination. In addition, we only have until January 14, 2023, unless extended if possible, to complete our business combination before we would be required to cease all operations. We cannot assure you that our plans to complete our initial business combination will be successful or successful within the business combination period. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Results of Operations
For the period from November 3, 2020 (date of inception) to December 31, 2020 our activities consisted of formation and preparation for our IPO and, subsequent to completion of our IPO on January 14, 2021, identifying and completing a suitable initial business combination. As such, in 2020 we had no operations or significant operating expenses and in 2021 we had no operations or significant operating expenses until after the completion of our IPO in January 2021.
Operating costs and taxes. Our normal operating costs since January 14, 2021 include costs associated with our search for an initial business combination, costs associated with our governance and public reporting (see below), and a charge of $25,000 per month from our sponsor for administrative services for an aggregate of approximately $298,000 (including certain reimbursable expenses) for the year ended December 31, 2021. Costs associated with our governance and public reporting have increased since our IPO and were approximately $516,000 for the year ended December 31, 2021. General and administrative costs also include approximately $2,785,000 of professional and consulting fees in the year ended December 31, 2021 associated with our review of business combination candidates.
Income taxes were $0, for the year ended December 31, 2021 and for the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 because we are an exempt Cayman Islands company and are not subject to income tax in the United States or in the Cayman Islands. We did not withdraw any interest from the trust account in the year ended December 31, 2021.
Other income and expense - As discussed further in Note 6 to the financial statements included elsewhere in this report, the Company accounts for its outstanding public and private warrants as derivative liabilities. As a result, the Company is required to measure the fair value of the public and private warrants at the end of each reporting period and recognize changes in the fair value from the prior period in the Company’s operating results for each current period. The statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2021 reflects other income from change in fair value of the warrant liability of approximately $9,029,000 and charges to other expense aggregating approximately $800,000 for warrant liability issuance costs. Other income also includes approximately $75,000 of interest income on the trust assets.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
On January 14, 2021, we consummated our IPO, selling an aggregate of 30,000,000 units at a price of $10.00 per unit and generating gross proceeds of $300,000,000 before underwriting discounts and expenses. Simultaneously with the consummation of our IPO, we consummated our private placement of 5,566,667 private placement warrants, each exercisable to purchase one share of our Class A ordinary shares at $11.50 per share, to the Sponsor, at a price of $1.50 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds, before expenses, of approximately $8,350,000. At that time, the proceeds in the trust account were initially invested in cash. On January 15, 2021, the Company purchased U.S. government treasury bills due in April 2021 and yielding less than 0.01% and at December 31, 2021, the proceeds in the trust account are invested in a money market fund that invests solely U.S. government treasury bills.
The net proceeds from our IPO and our private placement were approximately $301,471,000, net of the non-deferred portion of the underwriting commissions of $6,000,000 and offering costs and other expenses of approximately $904,000 (including approximately $554,000 of offering expenses and approximately $350,000 of insurance that is accounted for as prepaid expense). $300,000,000 of the proceeds of our IPO and our private placement have been deposited in the trust account and are not available to us for operations (except amounts to pay taxes, if any). At December 31, 2021 and 2020, we had approximately $842,000 and $20,000, respectively, of cash available outside of the trust account to fund our activities until we consummate an initial business combination.
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Until the consummation of our IPO, the Company’s only sources of liquidity were an initial purchase of our Class B ordinary share for $25,000 by our sponsor, and the availability of loans to us of up to $300,000 by our sponsor under an unsecured promissory note (the “Note”), a total of $199,000 was actually loaned by our sponsor against the issuance of the Note. The Note was non-interest bearing and was paid in full on January 14, 2021 in connection with the closing of our IPO, accordingly, no amounts are outstanding under the Note at December 31, 2021.
At December 31, 2021, the Company had approximately $842,000 in cash and approximately $1,783,000 in negative working capital. The Company has incurred and expects to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of its business combination. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. There is no assurance that the Company’s plans to consummate a business combination will be successful or successful within the period we have for consummating a business combination. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of time within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
We do not believe we will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating our business prior to our initial business combination, other than funds which may be available from loans from our sponsor, its affiliates or members of our management team. 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. 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 may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. The terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
We expect our principal liquidity requirements during this period to include legal, accounting, due diligence, travel and other expenses associated with structuring, negotiating and documenting successful business combinations; legal and accounting fees related to regulatory reporting obligations; payment for investment professionals’ services and support services; Nasdaq continued listing fees; and general working capital that will be used for miscellaneous expenses and reserves.
Our estimates of expenses 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 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.
Moreover, we may need to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination, either because the transaction requires more cash than is available from the proceeds held in our trust account, or because we become obligated to redeem a significant number of our public shares upon completion of the business combination, in which case we may issue additional securities or incur debt in connection with such business combination. If we have not consummated our initial business combination within the required time period because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account.
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The Company has until January 14, 2023 to complete an initial business combination, or until the end of any Extension Period that may be proposed to and approved by our shareholders in the form of an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If the Company does not complete an initial business combination by January 14, 2023 or the end of any approved Extension Period, the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public Class A ordinary shares for a pro rata portion of the trust account, including interest, but less taxes payable (and less up to $100,000 of such net interest to pay dissolution expenses) and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, dissolve and liquidate the balance of the Company’s net assets to its creditors and remaining shareholders, as part of its plan of dissolution and liquidation. The initial shareholders have waived their redemption rights with respect to their founder shares; however, if the initial shareholders or any of the Company’s officers, directors or their affiliates acquire Class A ordinary shares in or after our IPO, they will be entitled to a pro rata share of the trust account upon the Company’s redemption or liquidation in the event the Company does not complete an initial business combination within the required time period.
In the event of such liquidation, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including trust account assets) will be less than the price per unit in our IPO.
Off-balance Sheet Arrangements; Commitments and Contractual Obligations; Quarterly Results
We have no obligations, assets or liabilities which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements.
We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or entered into any agreements for non-financial assets.
Contractual Obligations
At December 31, 2021, we did not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities. In connection with our IPO, we entered into an Administrative Support Agreement with Global Partner Sponsor II LLC, our sponsor, pursuant to which the Company pays Global Partner Sponsor II LLC $25,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support.
In connection with identifying an initial business combination candidate and negotiating an initial business combination, the Company may enter into engagement letters or agreements with various consultants, advisors, professionals and others in connection with an initial business combination. The services under these engagement letters and agreements can be material in amount and in some instances can include contingent or success fees. Contingent or success fees (but not deferred underwriting compensation) would be charged to operations in the quarter that an initial business combination is consummated. In most instances (except with respect to our independent registered public accounting firm), these engagement letters and agreements are expected to specifically provide that such counterparties waive their rights to seek repayment from the funds in the trust account.
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Critical Accounting Estimates
The preparation of financial statements and related disclosures in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. The Company has identified the following as its critical accounting estimates:
Warrant Liability
A critical accounting estimate made in our financial statements is the estimated fair value of our warrant liability. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The tiers include:
| ● | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| ● | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable, such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| ● | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
In some circumstances, the inputs used to measure fair value may be categorized within different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is categorized in its entirety based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
The estimated fair value of our warrant liability at January 14, 2021 was determined using Level 3 inputs. At January 14, 2021, the Company utilized an independent valuation consultant that used a binomial lattice simulation methodology to value the Warrants. Inherent in a binomial options pricing model are assumptions related to expected share-price volatility, expected life, risk-free interest rate and dividend yield. The Company estimates the volatility of its shares based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the Warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero-coupon yield curve on the grant date for a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the Warrants. The expected life of the Warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term. The dividend rate is based on the historical rate, which the Company anticipates to remain at zero.
At December 31, 2021, our public warrants were trading in an active market. As such, at December 31, 2021, the Company valued its public warrants based on publicly observable inputs (Level 1 inputs) from the trading in the public warrants in an active market ($0.83 per public warrant on December 31, 2021). Since the private placement warrants are substantially similar to the public warrants but do not trade, the company valued them based on the value of the public warrants (significant other observable inputs – Level 2).
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We will qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act will be allowed to comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements based on the effective date for private (not publicly traded) companies. We are electing to delay the adoption of new or revised accounting standards, and as a result, we may not comply with new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for non-emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.
Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) provide all of the compensation disclosure that may be required of non-emerging growth public companies under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, (iii) comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements (auditor discussion and analysis) and (iv) disclose certain executive compensation related items such as the correlation between executive compensation and performance and comparisons of the chief executive officer’s compensation to median employee compensation. These exemptions will apply for a period of five years following the completion of our IPO or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier.
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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
The net proceeds of our IPO and a portion of the proceeds of our concurrent sale of private placement warrants are held in a trust account invested 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 of 1940, as amended, and 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. However, if the interest rates of U.S. Government Treasury obligations become negative, we may have less interest income available to us for the payment of taxes, and a decline in the value of the assets held in the trust account could reduce the amount of principal in the trust account below the amount initially deposited in the trust account.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Reference is made to the pages numbered with an “F”, beginning with page F-1, of this annual report on Form 10-K.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls are procedures that are designed with the objective of ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designed with the objective of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial and accounting officer (our “Certifying Officers”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officers concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021, due solely to the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting described below in “Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.” In light of these material weaknesses, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
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Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
As required by SEC rules and regulations implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15- d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements for external reporting purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our Company,
(2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors, and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect errors or misstatements in our financial statements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree or compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting at December 31, 2021. In making these assessments, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013). Based on that assessment, management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2021 due to material weakness in accounting for complex financial instruments. See “Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting”, below. In light of this assessment, we performed additional analyses as deemed necessary to ensure that our audited financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, our management believes that the financial statements included in this report present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the periods presented.
This report does not include an attestation report of internal controls from our independent registered public accounting firm due to our status as an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Our internal control over financial reporting did not result in the proper classification of our warrants. Since issuance on January 14, 2021, our warrants were accounted for as equity within our balance sheet. On April 12, 2021, the SEC Staff issued the SEC Staff Statement in which the SEC Staff expressed its view that certain terms and conditions common to SPAC warrants may require the warrants to be classified as liabilities on the SPAC’s balance sheet as opposed to equity. After discussion and evaluation, taking into consideration the SEC Staff Statement, we have concluded that our warrants should be presented as liabilities with subsequent fair value remeasurement as previously restated. In addition, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting did not result in the proper classification of all of our public shares as temporary equity. The reclassification of all of our public shares as temporary equity resulted in changes to the Company’s net income (loss) per share calculations that have previously been restated.
In light of material weakness, we have enhanced our processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements to better evaluate and understand the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements, including by making greater use of third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have their intended effects. We believe our efforts will enhance our controls relating to accounting for complex financial transactions, but we can offer no assurance that our controls will not require additional review and modification in the future, in particular as industry accounting practice evolves over time.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
Not applicable.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Officers and Directors
Our officers and directors are as follows:
| Name | Age | Position | ||
| Paul J. Zepf | 57 | Chief Executive Officer and Chairman | ||
| David Apseloff | 63 | Chief Financial Officer | ||
| Pano Anthos | 63 | Director | ||
| Andrew Cook | 59 | Director | ||
| Gary DiCamillo | 71 | Director | ||
| Claudia Hollingsworth | 61 | Director | ||
| William Kerr | 80 | Director | ||
| James McCann | 52 | Director | ||
| Jay Ripley | 64 | Director |
Paul J. Zepf, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
Mr. Zepf serves as our Chief Executive Officer and as Chairman of our board of directors since inception. From February 2018 through July 2020, Mr. Zepf was a senior investment professional at TowerBrook Capital Partners (“TowerBrook”), first as a Venture Partner and then as a Managing Director. Currently, he is a Management Advisory Board member at TowerBrook. TowerBrook is a private equity management firm with over $13 billion in assets under management, investing in both control and non-control deals across multiple industry sectors. From the closing of GPAC’s merger with Purple in February 2018 until August 2020, Mr. Zepf was a non-voting observer to Purple’s board of directors and each of its board committees. From August 2020, he has been a member and, since December 1, 2020, has been the non-executive Chairperson, of Purple’s board of directors. Prior thereto, from June 2015 to February 2018, he was Chief Executive Officer and a director of GPAC. From February 2014 to June 2015, Mr. Zepf was a Managing Director and Head of Strategic Initiatives at Golub Capital, a direct lender and credit asset manager, with more than $30 billion in capital under management. Prior to joining Golub Capital, from March 2005 to February 2014, Mr. Zepf was a managing principal of Corporate Partners, a Lazard-sponsored private equity fund. Following the February 2009 spin-off of Corporate Partners from Lazard, Mr. Zepf also served as managing principal of Corporate Partners Management LLC until February 2014. Prior to that, from 2001 to 2009, he was also co-head of Lazard North American Private Equity, and, from 2001 to 2005, a managing director of Lazard LLC. Mr. Zepf was a managing principal of Lazard Alternative Investments from 2005 to 2009 and of Lazard Capital Partners from 2001 to 2009. Previously, from 1998 to 2001, Mr. Zepf was a managing director of Corporate Partners I and of Centre Partners, a middle market private equity firm. He started his career in the Merchant Banking Department at Morgan Stanley & Co. in 1987. Mr. Zepf has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Note Dame, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa.
David Apseloff, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Apseloff serves as our Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) since inception. Mr. Apseloff is an experienced CFO who has extensive expertise in working with middle market companies. Mr. Apseloff currently serves on the board of directors of Aqua Terra Water Management L.P. and serves part-time as the CFO of Agile Cold Chain Solutions LLC. Mr. Apseloff previously served on the boards of CitySwitch Tower Holdings, LLC, from May 2019 until it was sold in September 2021, and Flagship Communities, LLC, from July 2018 until it completed its IPO in October 2020. Mr. Apseloff was formerly CFO of Aqua Terra from March 2017 to February 2018. From 2015 to 2016, he was the CFO and Executive Vice President of Agro, a global provider of cold chain logistic services, after they acquired Nordic Cold Storage Holdings LLC, where he served as CFO from 2011 to 2015. Previously in his career, Mr. Apseloff held CFO positions with a variety of private equity backed companies, including oil and gas services, distribution of RV accessories, healthcare services, industrial and manufacturing businesses. These companies were backed by sponsors such as Greenbriar Equity Group, Centre Partners Management LLC, Bregal Partners, Oaktree Capital and American Infrastructure Funds. Mr. Apseloff started his career at Arthur Andersen & Co. and was a senior staff accountant in the Small Business Audit Division. Mr. Apseloff is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from the University of Florida.
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Pano Anthos, Director
Mr. Anthos, who has served as Vice Chairman of our board of directors since 2021, is the founder and managing director of XRC Labs and Funds, one of the leading innovation accelerators focused on the consumer goods and retail markets. He is regularly engaged as a speaker at leading industry and financial conferences including NRF, Shoptalk and NACDS on the industry side and UBS, RBC, Cowen, Oppenheimer and Jefferies on the financial side. Mr. Anthos has over 30 years of technology CEO and founder experience spanning supply chain, gaming and technology infrastructure, having built new businesses in B2B and B2C markets across Web, social, mobile and gaming platforms. In addition to his responsibilities at XRC Labs, Mr. Anthos has been a board member of Purple since its merger with GPAC in February 2018. Prior thereto, from June 2015 to February 2018, he served as a director of GPAC. He was also a partner of Eaglepoint, running their digital transformation practice. Prior to GPAC, Mr. Anthos co-founded GatherEducation in November 2012, which is a virtual reality classroom platform that recreates the physical classroom online to enable teachers to teach students on low bandwidth, 3G networks. From September 2010 to October 2011, Mr. Anthos founded and ran Guided Launch, an advisory firm that incubated startups in the media and advertising spaces. From 1984 to 2010, Mr. Anthos co-founded several successful businesses including Hangout Industries, a virtual reality gaming platform; Pantero, a semantic web integration platform; and Clearcross, a global logistics platform. Mr. Anthos also served on the board of directors of FCA International. Mr. Anthos holds an MIA from Columbia University, where he was an International Fellow, and holds a BA from the University of Delaware.
Andrew Cook, Director
Mr. Cook, one of our directors since 2021, is currently a director and chair of OmegaCat Reinsurance Ltd, a director of Aspida Holdings and a director of Atlas Arteria International Limited (ASX: ALX). He was formerly the Chief Financial Officer of GPAC from June 2015 to February 2018. From September 2013 to July 2020, he was a director and Audit Committee Chair of Blue Capital Reinsurance Holdings Limited (NYSE: BCRH), a Bermuda-based ILS reinsurance company. In September 2019, Mr. Cook was named Chief Executive Officer of Grey Castle, a Bermuda-based entity that participated in the life reinsurance run-off space until its sale in May 2020. Mr. Cook previously served as a director and Investment Committee Chair of Grey Castle. From October 2010 to June 2013he served as President of Alterra Bermuda Ltd., in addition to his position as Executive Vice President–Business Development, which he held from May 2010. Previously, Mr. Cook served as Chief Financial Officer of Harbor Point Ltd. from September 2006 until its merger with Max Capital Corp. in May 2010, the combination forming Alterra Capital Holdings. He also served as Deputy Chairman, President and Chief Financial Officer of Harbor Point Re Limited. From 2001 to 2006, Mr. Cook was the founding Chief Financial Officer of Axis Capital Holdings Ltd. From January 2001 until November 2001, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Mutual Risk Management. From 1993 to 1999, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of LaSalle Re Holdings, Ltd. Mr. Cook qualified as a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant in 1986, having started his career in Toronto with Ernst & Young. He received a B.A. in finance and accounting from the University of Western Ontario in 1983.
Gary DiCamillo, Director
Mr. DiCamillo, one of our directors since 2021, served as vice chairman of GPAC’s board of directors from its inception until February 2018, and since GPAC’s merger with Purple in February 2018 has been a member of the board of directors of Purple, its lead independent director and chairman of the audit committee. From June 2017 to January 2020, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Trailer Corporation, a manufacturer of leading horse, livestock and utility trailer brands. Since January 2010, Mr. DiCamillo has been the managing partner of Eaglepoint, a privately held advisor to boards and chief executive officers in matters of strategy, organization and the management of business transition issues. Prior to that, Mr. DiCamillo was the president and chief executive officer of Advantage Resourcing, a group of privately held technical, professional and commercial staffing companies based in Dedham, Massachusetts, from 2002 until August 2009. Previously, he was chairman and chief executive officer at the Polaroid Corporation from 1995 to 2002. He also has served as president of Worldwide Power Tools and Accessories at Black & Decker Corporation from 1986 to 1995 and before that as vice president/general manager for Culligan U.S.A., a division of Beatrice Corporation. He previously served as a director of Pella Corporation (from 1993 to 2007, and 2010 to 2018), the Sheridan Group, Inc. (from 1989 to 2017), and previously served as a director, as well as Lead Director, of 3Com Corporation (from 2000 to 2009). He began his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble Co., followed by several years as a manager at McKinsey & Company. Mr. DiCamillo has served as a director of Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR) since 1997 and served as chairman of its audit committee from April 2013 to April 2017. He serves on the boards of trustees at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the Museum of Science in Boston, USA and previously served as a board member of Berkshire Manufactured Products, Inc. (where he was Chairman), Select Staffing and the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. Mr. DiCamillo is a graduate of Harvard Business School where he earned an MBA. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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Claudia Hollingsworth, Director
Ms. Hollingsworth, one of our directors since 2021, has been the Chief Executive Officer of i2CEO, a boutique advisory company that has advised companies in both the public and private sectors on business acceleration, transition, strategy, leadership and organizational maturity, since November 2016. Ms. Hollingsworth was appointed to Purple’s board of directors immediately following the closing of its business combination with GPAC and currently serves as chair of Purple’s human resources/compensation committee and as a member of its audit committee. Ms. Hollingsworth has 30 years of experience in consumer products, having managed manufacturers, wholesalers and multi-channel retail businesses. From July 2012 to October 2016, she served as Chief Executive Officer of Gump’s San Francisco, a luxury home furnishing, apparel and jewelry multi-channel retailer. Gump’s San Francisco later filed a petition under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in August 2018. From May 2011 to June 2012, Ms. Hollingsworth also served as Chief Executive Officer of i2CEO. From July 2007 to May 2011, Ms. Hollingsworth served as president of H.D. Buttercup, a furniture marketplace. From March 2004 to July 2007, she served as CEO and president of GBH, Inc., a boutique jewelry manufacturing company with factories in France and Peru. Prior to that, Ms. Hollingsworth served as president and director of Michael Anthony Jewelers. Earlier in her career, she held various executive management positions with M.Z. Berger and OroAmerica. Ms. Hollingsworth currently serves on the board of Destinations by Design, a premier destination management company. She also serves on the board of Atlas Corps, an international network of social sector leaders and organizations. She is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and is recognized as a Board Leadership Fellow.
William Kerr, Director
Mr. Kerr, one of our directors since 2021, is a Partner of Eaglepoint. He served as Chairman of GPAC from 2015 to 2018. From January 2010 through January 2013, Mr. Kerr served as Chief Executive Officer of Arbitron, Inc., a media and marketing services firm. From 1991 until January 2010, Mr. Kerr served as Executive Vice President, then as President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and finally as non-executive chairman, of Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP), a diversified media company. Mr. Kerr currently serves of the board of directors Questex Holdings Group and as a member of the Executive Board of MidOcean Partners. He has previously been on the board of directors of the Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (NYSE:IPG), Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE:WHR), Principal Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFG), Penton Media and StorageTek. Earlier in his career, he was a consultant at McKinsey and a Vice President of The New York Times Company. Mr. Kerr has a B.A. from the University of Washington, a B.A. and an M.A. from Oxford University (where he was a Rhodes Scholar), and an M.A. and an M.B.A. from Harvard University.
James McCann, Director
Mr. McCann, one of our directors since 2021, has been the Chairman and CEO of Food Retail Ventures LLC since October 2016, a venture capital company funded by his family office that invests in early stage companies across the food and retail technology sectors. He currently serves as non-executive Chairman of Green Rabbit Holdings Inc.., as a director of Fetch Rewards Inc., Flashfood Inc., Atlas Bar, Inc., Afresh Technologies Inc., Fillogic Inc., Halla Technologies Inc., Weee! Inc. and Foodmaven Corporation. Prior to founding Food Retail Ventures LLC, from 2011 to 2016, Mr. McCann was on the Management Board of AEX listed Royal Ahold NV, initially as the Group Chief Commercial Officer and later as the Group COO and CEO of Ahold USA. He played a key role in the EUR54 billion merger of Royal Ahold NV with Belgian listed Delhaize Group. Prior to Ahold, from 2010 to 2011, Mr. McCann was on the Group Executive Committee at the Paris-listed Carrefour Group, where he was CEO of the French retail business. Prior to Carrefour, Mr. McCann was a senior executive at London-listed Tesco PLC, from 2006 to 2009 as CEO of Tesco Hungary, from 2004 to 2006 as CEO of Tesco Malaysia and from 2003 to 2004 as COO of Tesco Poland. Prior to Tesco, Mr. McCann held roles of increasing seniority at Shell PLC, Mars, Incorporated and Sainsbury’s PLC. Mr. McCann holds a BSc in Management Sciences from Manchester University UK (UMIST), having graduated with first class honors in 1992. Mr. McCann is a Trustee at Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston, where he is the Chairman of the philanthropy committee and is on the governance and executive committees.
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Jay Ripley, Director
Jay Ripley, one of our directors since 2021, is the founder and Chairman of Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, which recently bought a majority of the business of Sequel Youth & Family Services (“Sequel”), a national operator of behavioral health services in the USA. He co-founded Sequel in 1999, became its majority owner in 2014 and sold it to a private equity firm in 2017. Mr. Ripley also serves as Chairman of the Alaris Equity Partners Income Trust (“Alaris”) board of directors. Alaris is a publicly-traded investment company located in Calgary, Alberta, that has invested approximately $2.0 billion to date in North American companies. Additionally, Mr. Ripley was a founding partner of and serves as an advisory board member to CYwP Funds, a group of private equity funds in the Washington, DC area that invest in operating businesses and real estate across the U.S. Previously, Mr. Ripley co-founded and was the principal owner of BGR, “The Burger Joint,” an upscale, fast casual gourmet burger restaurant concept which he sold in March 2015. He also was a founding stockholder of Youth Services International and served as its President and Chief Operating Officer as well as its CFO. Additionally, he has served as President and CEO of Precision Auto Care, a worldwide franchiser of automotive service centers, and was an executive with Jiffy Lube, the leading franchiser of quick lube centers in America. Mr. Ripley began his career with Ernst & Young, CPAs in Baltimore, MD. Mr. Ripley is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore and a licensed CPA. He is a member of both CEO (Chief Executives Organization) and YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization), serves on the University of Baltimore President’s Advisory Council, and is a partner in Sageworth, a shared family office that serves its members and clients around the world.
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
Our board of directors consists of eight directors, divided into three classes, with only one class of directors being appointed in each year, and with each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual general meeting) serving a three-year term. In accordance with Nasdaq corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual general meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on Nasdaq. The term of office of the first class of directors, which will consist of Ms. Hollingsworth and Mr. McCann, will expire at our first annual general meeting. The term of office of the second class of directors, which will consist of Mr. Cook, Mr. Kerr and Mr. Ripley, will expire at our second annual general meeting. The term of office of the third class of directors, which will consist of Mr. Zepf, Mr. Anthos and Mr. DiCamillo, will expire at our third annual general meeting.
Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by holders of a majority of our founder shares. In addition, prior to the completion of an initial business combination, holders of a majority of our founder shares may remove a member of the board of directors for any reason.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into on or prior to the closing of our IPO, our sponsor, upon and following consummation of an initial business combination, will be entitled to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association as it deems appropriate. Our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that our officers may consist of one or more chairman of the board, chief executive officer, president, chief financial officer, vice presidents, secretary, treasurer and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. Our board of directors has determined that Mr. Cook, Mr. DiCamillo, Ms. Hollingsworth, Mr. Kerr, Mr. McCann and Mr. Ripley are “independent directors” as defined in Nasdaq listing standards. Our independent directors will have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
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Committees of the Board of Directors
Our board of directors has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, the rules of Nasdaq require that the compensation and nominating and corporate governance committees of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors. Each committee will operate under a charter that will be approved by our board and will have the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Gary DiCamillo, Andrew Cook and Jay Ripley serve as members of our audit committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on the audit committee must be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. DiCamillo, Mr. Cook and Mr. Ripley is independent under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Mr. DiCamillo serves as the chairman of the audit committee. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. DiCamillo and Mr. Cook each qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.
The audit committee is responsible for:
| ➤ | meeting with our independent registered public accounting firm regarding, among other issues, audits, and adequacy of our accounting and control systems; |
| ➤ | monitoring the independence of the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ➤ | verifying the rotation of the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit as required by law; |
| ➤ | inquiring and discussing with management our compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| ➤ | pre-approving all audit services and permitted non-audit services to be performed by our independent registered public accounting firm, including the fees and terms of the services to be performed; |
| ➤ | appointing or replacing the independent registered public accounting firm; |
| ➤ | determining the compensation and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm (including resolution of disagreements between management and the independent registered public accounting firm regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work; |
| ➤ | establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or reports which raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies; |
| ➤ | monitoring compliance on a quarterly basis with the terms of our IPO and, if any noncompliance is identified, immediately taking all action necessary to rectify such noncompliance or otherwise causing compliance with the terms of our IPO; and |
| ➤ | reviewing and approving all payments made to our existing shareholders, executive officers or directors and their respective affiliates. Any payments made to members of our audit committee will be reviewed and approved by our board of directors, with the interested director or directors abstaining from such review and approval. |
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Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Andrew Cook, William Kerr and Jay Ripley serve as members of this committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on this committee must be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Cook, Mr. Kerr and Mr. Ripley is independent under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Mr. Cook serves as chair of the committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| ➤ | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our chief executive officer’s compensation, evaluating our chief executive officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our chief executive officer based on such evaluation; |
| ➤ | reviewing and approving the compensation of all of our other Section 16 executive officers; |
| ➤ | reviewing our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| ➤ | implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans; |
| ➤ | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| ➤ | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our executive officers and employees; |
| ➤ | producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| ➤ | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by Nasdaq and the SEC.
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors. William Kerr, Claudia Hollingsworth and James McCann serve as members of this committee. Under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules, all the directors on this committee must be independent. Our board of directors has determined that each of Mr. Kerr, Ms. Hollingsworth and Mr. McCann is independent under Nasdaq listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Mr. Kerr serves as chair of the committee.
We have adopted a nominating and corporate governance committee charter, which details the principal functions of the nominating and corporate governance committee, including:
| ➤ | identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the board, and recommending to the board of directors candidates for nomination for election 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 governance of the company; and |
| ➤ | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The charter also provides that the nominating and corporate governance committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of, and terminate, any search firm to be used to identify director candidates, and will be directly responsible for approving the search firm’s fees and other retention terms.
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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. Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our board of directors.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon 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.
We have entered into an administrative support agreement pursuant to which we will pay our sponsor a total of $25,000 per month for the services to be provided by one or more investment professionals, creation and maintenance of our website, and miscellaneous additional services (the “Services Agreement”). Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting. In such case, our sponsor and each member of our management team have agreed to vote founder shares and public shares of theirs, if any, in favor of our initial business combination.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
None of our executive officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. Our sponsor, executive officers and directors, or their respective affiliates will be reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or their affiliates. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than quarterly audit committee review of such reimbursements, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with our activities on our behalf in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination. Other than these payments and reimbursements, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid by the company to our sponsor or officers, or their respective affiliates, prior to completion of our initial business combination.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to shareholders, to the extent then known, in the proxy solicitation materials or tender offer materials furnished to our shareholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining executive officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our executive officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.
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We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our executive officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our executive officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares as of the date of this annual report on Form 10-K, 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 Advisory Group members who beneficially own ordinary shares; and |
| ➤ | all our executive officers and directors as a group. |
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all of our ordinary shares beneficially owned by them. The following table does not reflect record or beneficial ownership of the private placement warrants as these warrants are not exercisable within 60 days of the date of this report.
| Class A Ordinary Share | Class B Ordinary Shares | |||||||||||||||||||
| Name and Address of Beneficial Owner (1) | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Approximate Percentage of Class | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned (2) | Approximate Percentage of Class | Approximate Percentage of Outstanding Shares | |||||||||||||||
| Global Partner Sponsor II LLC(3) | — | — | 7,500,000 | 100.0 | % | 20.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Paul J. Zepf(3) | — | — | 7,500,000 | 100.0 | % | 20.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| David Apseloff(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Pano Anthos(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Andrew Cook(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Gary DiCamillo(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Claudia Hollingsworth(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| William Kerr(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| James McCann(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| Jay Ripley(4) | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||
| All directors and executive officers as a group (9 individuals) (3) | — | — | 7,500,000 | 100 | % | 20.0 | % | |||||||||||||
| Aristeia Capital, L.L.C.(5) | 2,163,924 | 7.2 | % | — | — | 5.8 | % | |||||||||||||
| Empyrean Capital Overseas Master Fund, Ltd. (6) | 1,650,000 | 5.5 | % | — | — | 4.4 | % | |||||||||||||
| (1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of our shareholders is 7 Rye Ridge Plaza, Suite 350, Rye Brook, NY 10573. |
| (2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as Class B ordinary shares. Such shares will automatically convert into Class A ordinary shares at the time of our initial business combination or earlier at the option of the holders thereof. |
| (3) | Our sponsor, Global Partner Sponsor II LLC, is the record holder of the shares reported. The managing member of our sponsor is Paul J. Zepf, who may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the shares held by our sponsor. |
| (4) | Does not include any shares indirectly owned by the relevant individual as a result of that individual’s membership interest in our sponsor. Each of these individuals disclaims beneficial ownership of any shares except to the extent of their pecuniary interest therein. |
| (5) | According to a Schedule 13G filed February 14, 2022 with the SEC, Aristeia Capital L.L.C. (“Aristeia”) is the investment manager of one or more private investment funds, and has voting and investment control with respect to the Class A ordinary shares listed, which are held by one or more such funds. The principal business address of Aristeia is One Greenwich Plaza, 3rd Floor, Greenwich, CT 06830.
|
| (6) | According to a Schedule 13G filed January 25, 2021 with the SEC, Empyrean Capital Overseas Master Fund, Ltd. (“ECOMF”), its investment manager Empyrean Capital Partners, LP (“ECP”) and Mr. Amos Meron, managing member of the general partner of ECP, may be deemed to be the beneficial owners of the Class A ordinary shares listed, which are directly held by ECOMF. The principal business address of each of the reporting persons is 10250 Constellation Boulevard, Suite 2950, Los Angeles, CA 90067. |
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Our sponsor beneficially owns 20% of the then issued and outstanding ordinary shares (assuming they do not purchase any units in the aftermarket) and will have the right to appoint all of our directors prior to our initial business combination. Holders of our public shares will not have the right to appoint any directors to our board of directors prior to our initial business combination. Because of this ownership block, our sponsor may be able to effectively influence the outcome of all other matters requiring approval by our shareholders, including amendments to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association and approval of significant corporate transactions including our initial business combination.
Our sponsor has agreed (a) to vote any founder shares and public shares held by it in favor of any proposed business combination and (b) not to redeem any founder shares or public shares held by it in connection with a shareholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. Our sponsor and our officers and directors are deemed to be our “promoters” as such term is defined under the federal securities laws.
Transfers of Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants
The founder shares and private placement warrants and any Class A ordinary shares issued upon conversion or exercise thereof are each subject to transfer restrictions pursuant to lock-up provisions in the agreement entered into by our sponsor and management team. Our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any of founder shares of theirs, if any, until the earliest of (a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination and (b) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for share subdivisions, share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within any 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property.
The private placement warrants and the respective Class A ordinary shares underlying such warrants are not transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination. The foregoing restrictions are not applicable to transfers (a) to our officers or directors, any affiliates or family members of any of our officers or directors, any members of our sponsor, or any affiliates of our sponsor; (b) in the case of an individual, by gift to a member of one of the individual’s immediate family or to a trust, the beneficiary of which is a member of the individual’s immediate family, an affiliate of such person or to a charitable organization; (c) in the case of an individual, by virtue of laws of descent and distribution upon death of the individual; (d) in the case of an individual, pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order; (e) by private sales or transfers made in connection with the consummation of a business combination at prices no greater than the price at which the founder shares, private placement warrants or Class A ordinary shares, as applicable, were originally purchased; (f) by virtue of our sponsor’s organizational documents upon liquidation or dissolution of our sponsor; (g) to the company for no value for cancellation in connection with the consummation of our initial business combination; (h) in the event of our liquidation prior to the completion of our initial business combination; or (i) in the event of our completion of a liquidation, merger, share exchange or other similar transaction which results in all of our public shareholders having the right to exchange their Class A ordinary shares for cash, securities or other property subsequent to our completion of our initial business combination; provided, however, that in the case of clauses (a) through (e) these permitted transferees must enter into a written agreement agreeing to be bound by these transfer restrictions and the other restrictions contained in the letter agreement.
In addition to the foregoing, our sponsor and our directors and executive officers have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell founder shares of theirs, if any, until certain vesting conditions are satisfied, as described in the prospectus for our IPO under the heading “Description of Securities—Founder Shares.”
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
On November 11, 2020, our sponsor paid $25,000, or approximately $0.003 per share, to cover certain of our IPO and formation costs in consideration of receiving 7,187,500 Class B ordinary shares, par value $0.0001. On January 11, 2021, we effected a share capitalization, resulting in our sponsor holding 7,500,000 Class B ordinary shares. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the issued and outstanding shares upon completion of our IPO. Up to 625,000 founder shares were subject to forfeiture by our sponsor depending on the extent to which the underwriters’ over-allotment option was exercised. Because that option was fully exercised, no founder shares were forfeited. 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 purchased 5,566,667 private placement warrants for a purchase price of $1.50 per whole warrant in a private placement that was conducted concurrently with the closing of the IPO. As such, our sponsor’s interest in this transaction is valued at $8,350,000. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one Class A ordinary share at $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. The private placement warrants (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 until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination.
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If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us.
Our address is 7 Rye Ridge Plaza Suite 350, Rye Brook, NY 10573. We currently expect our officers and the investment professionals who will be providing services under the administrative support agreement we have entered into with our sponsor, a copy of which is filed as an exhibit to this report, to work remotely, but we may incur costs for office space and administrative and support services in the future, which would be provided by our sponsor pursuant to the administrative support agreement.
No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor or officers, or their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of an initial business combination, other than the following payments, none of which will be made from the proceeds of the IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account prior to the completion of our initial business combination:
| ➤ | Repayment of up to an aggregate of $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; |
| ➤ | Pursuant to the administrative support agreement, we will pay our sponsor a total of $25,000 per month for, among other things, provision of the services of one or more investment professionals, who may be related parties of our sponsor or of one of our executive officers. Each of these professionals will be paid by our sponsor at or below market rates for their services; and |
| ➤ | Repayment of loans which may be made by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. |
Any such payments will be made either (i) prior to our initial business combination using proceeds of our IPO and the sale of the private placement warrants held outside the trust account or from loans made to us by our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors or (ii) in connection with or after the consummation of our initial business combination.
Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made by us to our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
Prior to the consummation of our IPO, our sponsor agreed to loan us up to $300,000 to be used for a portion of the expenses of the IPO. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecured and due at the earlier of March 31, 2021 or the closing of the IPO. We had drawn down approximately $199,000 under this arrangement, including approximately $49,000 of costs paid directly by our sponsor, for costs related to the IPO. In January 2021, upon the closing of the IPO, all amounts outstanding were repaid.
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In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts out of the proceeds of the trust account released to us. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $2,000,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.50 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor, its affiliates or our management team as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.
After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our shareholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our shareholders. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a general meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.
We have entered into a registration and shareholder rights agreement pursuant to which our sponsor will be entitled to certain registration rights with respect to the private placement warrants, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the foregoing and upon conversion of the founder shares, and, upon consummation of our initial business combination, to nominate three individuals for appointment to our board of directors, as long as our sponsor holds any securities covered by the registration and shareholder rights agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to this report. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Policy for Approval of Related Party Transactions
The audit committee of our board of directors has a charter that provides for it to review, approve and/or ratify “related party transactions,” which are those transactions required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K as promulgated by the SEC. At its meetings, the audit committee shall be provided with the details of each new, existing or proposed related party transaction, including the terms of the transaction, any contractual restrictions that we have already committed to, the business purpose of the transaction, and the benefits of the transaction to us and to the relevant related party. Any member of the committee who has an interest in the related party transaction under review by the committee shall abstain from voting on the approval of the related party transaction, but may, if so requested by the chairman of the committee, participate in some or all of the committee’s discussions of the related party transaction. Upon completion of its review of the related party transaction, the committee may determine to permit or to prohibit the related party transaction.
Director Independence
Nasdaq listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent within one year of our initial public offering. 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 has determined that each of Mr. Cook, Mr. DiCamillo, Ms. Hollingsworth, Mr. Kerr, Mr. McCann and Mr. Ripley is an independent director under applicable SEC rules and the Nasdaq listing standards. Our Audit Committee is composed solely of independent directors meeting Nasdaq’s additional requirements applicable to members of the Audit Committee. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
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Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC (“Withum”), PCAOB ID #100, for services rendered.
Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normally provided by Withum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Withum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 totaled $65,000 and $58,195, respectively. The above amounts include interim procedures and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.
Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related fees consist of fees billed for assurance and related services that are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review of our financial statements and are not reported under “Audit Fees,” above. These services include attest services that are not required by statute or regulation and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. During the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020 we did not pay any audit-related fees to Withum.
Tax Fees. We paid Withum $2,460 for tax return services, planning or tax advice for the year ended December 31, 2021. We did not pay Withum for any such services for the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020.
All Other Fees. We did not pay Withum for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2021 or for the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020.
Our audit committee was formed in connection with the completion of our IPO. As a result, the audit committee did not pre-approve any of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our board of directors. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to de minimis exceptions for non-audit services as described in the Exchange Act that are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit).
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibit and Financial Statement Schedules
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this report: |
| (1) | Financial Statements |
| (2) | Financial Statement Schedules |
All financial statement schedules are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto included below in this Item 15 of Part IV.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits incorporated herein by reference can be inspected on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
Not applicable.
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GLOBAL PARTNER ACQUISITION CORP II
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Restatement of Previously Issued Financial Statement
As described in Note 7 to the financial statements, the Company’s previously issued January 14, 2021 financial statement has been restated herein to correct certain misstatements.
Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to raise additional funds to alleviate liquidity needs and complete a business combination by January 14, 2023, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. The liquidity condition and date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audits of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
March 17, 2022
PCAOB ID #
F-2
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Balance Sheets
| December 31, | ||||||||
| 2021 | 2020 | |||||||
| ASSETS | ||||||||
| Current assets – | ||||||||
| Cash | $ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses | ||||||||
| Deferred offering costs | ||||||||
| Total current assets | ||||||||
| Cash and investments held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Total assets | $ | $ | ||||||
| LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) | ||||||||
| Current liabilities – | ||||||||
| Accounts payable, including in 2021, offering costs of $ | $ | $ | ||||||
| Accrued liabilities | ||||||||
| Note payable to Sponsor | ||||||||
| Total current liabilities | ||||||||
| Other liabilities – | ||||||||
| Warrant liability | ||||||||
| Deferred underwriting compensation | ||||||||
| Total liabilities | ||||||||
| Commitments and contingencies – | ||||||||
| Shareholders’ equity (deficit) – | ||||||||
| Preference shares, $ | ||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares, $ | ||||||||
| Class B ordinary shares, $ | ||||||||
| Additional paid-in-capital | ||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity (deficit) | $ | $ | ||||||
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
F-3
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Statements of Operations
| For the year ended December 31, 2021 | For the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Revenues | $ | $ | ||||||
| General and administrative expenses | ||||||||
| Loss from operations | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Other income (expense) – | ||||||||
| Income from cash and investments held in Trust Account | ||||||||
| Transaction costs allocated to warrant liability | ( | ) | ||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | ||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| Weighted average Class A ordinary shares outstanding– basic and diluted | ||||||||
| Net income per Class A ordinary share – basic and diluted | $ | $ | ||||||
| Weighted average Class B ordinary shares outstanding – basic and diluted | ||||||||
| Net income per Class B ordinary share – basic and diluted | $ | $ | ||||||
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
F-4
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Statement of Changes in Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit)
For the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020
and for the year ended December 31, 2021
| Ordinary Shares | Total | |||||||||||||||||||
| Class B Shares | Amount | Additional Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Deficit | Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit) | ||||||||||||||||
| Balances, November 3, 2020 (inception) | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of Class B ordinary shares to Sponsor at approximately $ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||||
| Balances, December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Accretion for Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption to redemption amount | - | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | |||||||||||||
| Net income | - | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balances, December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | ||||||||||||
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
F-5
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Statement of Cash Flows
| For
the year ended December 31, 2021 | For
the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 | |||||||
| Cash flow from operating activities: | ||||||||
| Net income | $ | $ | ( | ) | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash used in operating activities | ||||||||
| Payment of formation costs through Class B ordinary shares | ||||||||
| Income from cash and investments held in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Transaction costs allocated to warrant liability | ||||||||
| Change in fair value of warrant liability | ( | ) | ||||||
| Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||||
| Increase in prepaid expenses | ( | ) | ||||||
| Increase in accounts payable | ||||||||
| Increase in accrued liabilities | ||||||||
| Net cash used in operating activities | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities: | ||||||||
| Cash deposited in Trust Account | ( | ) | ||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities: | ||||||||
| Proceeds from notes payable and advances – related party | ||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Public Offering Units | ||||||||
| Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants | ||||||||
| Payment of underwriting discounts | ( | ) | ||||||
| Payment of offering costs | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||
| Payment of notes payable and advances – related party | ( | ) | ||||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities | ||||||||
| Net increase in cash | ||||||||
| Cash at beginning of period | ||||||||
| Cash at end of period | $ | $ | ||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of non-cash financing activities: | ||||||||
| Deferred offering costs paid by Sponsor in exchange for the issuance of Class B ordinary shares | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred offering costs paid directly by Sponsor and included in Sponsor Note | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred offering costs in accrued expenses | $ | $ | ||||||
| Deferred underwriter compensation | $ | $ | ||||||
| Offering costs included in accounts payable | $ | $ | ||||||
See accompanying notes to financial statements.
F-6
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Note 1 – Description of Organization and Business Operations
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II (the “Company”) was incorporated in the Cayman Islands as an exempt company on November 3, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (the “Business Combination”). The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the “Securities Act,” as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”).
At December 31, 2021, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity for the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2021 relates to the Company’s formation and the initial public offering (“Public Offering”) described below and, subsequent to the Public Offering, identifying and completing a suitable Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company generates non-operating income in the form of interest income on cash from the proceeds derived from the Public Offering.
All dollar amounts are rounded to thousands of dollars.
Sponsor and Public Offering:
The
Company’s sponsor is Global Partner Sponsor II LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Sponsor”). The Company
intends to finance a Business Combination with proceeds from the $
The Trust Account:
The funds in the Trust Account can only be invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of one hundred and eighty-five (185) days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which invest only in direct U.S. government obligations. Funds will remain in the Trust Account until the earlier of (i) the consummation of its initial Business Combination or (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below. The remaining funds outside the Trust Account may be used to pay for business, legal and accounting due diligence on prospective acquisition targets and continuing general and administrative expenses.
The
Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provides that, other than the withdrawal of interest to pay
tax obligations, if any, less up to $
Business Combination:
The
Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the Public Offering,
although substantially all of the net proceeds of the Public Offering are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a Business
Combination with (or acquisition of) a Target Business. As used herein, “Target Business” is one or more target businesses
that together have a fair market value equal to at least
F-7
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
The
Company, after signing a definitive agreement for a Business Combination, will either (i) seek shareholder approval of the Business
Combination at a meeting called for such purpose in connection with which shareholders may seek to redeem their shares, regardless of
whether they vote for or against the Business Combination, for cash equal to their pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit
in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest but less
taxes payable and amounts released for taxes, or (ii) provide shareholders with the opportunity to have their shares redeemed by
the Company by means of a tender offer (and thereby avoid the need for a shareholder vote) for an amount in cash equal to their pro rata
share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account as of two business days prior to commencement of the tender offer,
including interest but less taxes payable and amounts released to the Company for working capital. The decision as to whether the Company
will seek shareholder approval of the Business Combination or will allow shareholders to sell their shares in a tender offer will be
made by the Company, solely in its discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether
the terms of the transaction would otherwise require the Company to seek shareholder approval unless a vote is required by the rules
of the Nasdaq Capital Market. If the Company seeks shareholder approval, it will complete its Business Combination only if a majority
of the outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination. However, in no
event will the Company redeem its public shares in an amount that would cause its net tangible assets to be less than $
If
the Company holds a shareholder vote or there is a tender offer for shares in connection with a Business Combination, a public shareholder
will have the right to redeem its shares for an amount in cash equal to its pro rata share of the aggregate amount then on deposit in
the Trust Account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial Business Combination, including interest but less
taxes payable and amounts released to the Company for working capital. As a result, the Class A ordinary shares are recorded at
redemption amount and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the Public Offering, in accordance with Financial Accounting
Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from
Equity.
The Company will have 24 months, until January 14, 2023, from the closing date of the Public Offering to complete its initial Business Combination, or until the end of any extension period that may be proposed to and approved by the Company’s shareholders in the form of an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within this period of time, it shall (i) cease all operations except for the purposes of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible, but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares of, but less taxes payable and amounts released to the Company for working capital (less up to $100,000 of such net interest to pay dissolution expenses) and (iii) as promptly as possible following such redemption, dissolve and liquidate the balance of the Company’s net assets to its creditors and remaining shareholders, as part of its plan of dissolution and liquidation. The initial shareholders have entered into letter agreements with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to participate in any redemption with respect to their Founders Shares; however, if the initial shareholders or any of the Company’s officers, directors or affiliates acquire Class A ordinary shares in or after the Public Offering, they will be entitled to a pro rata share of the Trust Account upon the Company’s redemption or liquidation in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within 24 months, January 14, 2023, from the closing of the Public Offering.
In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be less than the price per Unit (as defined below in Note 3) in the Public Offering.
F-8
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Note 2 – Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation:
The financial statements of the Company are presented in U.S. dollars and has been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Going Concern:
Emerging Growth Company:
Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the 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. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when an accounting standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard.
Net Income (Loss) per Ordinary Share:
Net
income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) applicable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average
number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. The Company has not considered the effect of the warrants sold in the Public Offering
and Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of
The Company complies with the accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” At December 31, 2021, the Company has two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A ordinary shares and Class B ordinary shares. Income and losses are shared pro rata among the two classes of shares because the Company assumes a Business Combination to be the most likely outcome. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the respective period.
The following table reflects the earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2021 after allocating income between the shares based on outstanding shares.
| Year ended | ||||||||
| December 31, 2021 | ||||||||
| Class A | Class B | |||||||
| Numerator: | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share: | ||||||||
| Allocation of income – basic and diluted | $ | $ | ||||||
| Denominator: | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted weighted average ordinary shares: | ||||||||
| Basic and diluted net income per ordinary share | $ | $ | ||||||
F-9
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
There were no outstanding Class A ordinary shares in the period from November 3, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2021.
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 $
Financial Instruments:
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities (excluding the Warrant liability), which qualify as financial instruments under Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“FASB ASC 820”), “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the financial statements, primarily due to their short-term nature, except for warrant liabilities (see Note 5).
Use of Estimates:
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the balance sheet and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Making estimates requires management to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimate of the effect of a condition, situation or set of circumstances that existed at the date of the financial statement, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could change in the near term due to one or more future confirming events. One of the more significant estimates included in these financial statements is the determination of the fair value of the warrant liability. Such estimates may be subject to change as more current information becomes available and accordingly the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
Offering Costs:
The
Company complies with the requirements of the FASB ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) Topic 5A— “Expenses
of Offering.” Costs incurred in connection with preparation for the Public Offering totalled approximately $
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Possible Redemption:
As
discussed in Note 3, all of the
F-10
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Under
ASC 480-10-S99, the Company has elected to recognize changes immediately as they occur and adjusts the carrying value of the securities
at the end of each reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date for
the security. Increases or decreases in the carrying amount of redeemable Class A ordinary shares are affected by adjustments to additional
paid-in capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit. Accordingly, at December 31, 2021,
| Gross proceeds of Public Offering | $ | |||
| Less: Proceeds allocated to Public Warrants | ( | ) | ||
| Offering costs | ( | ) | ||
| Plus: Accretion of carrying value to redemption value | ||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption | $ |
Income Taxes:
FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the balance sheet recognition and measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must be more-likely-than-not to be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. The Company’s management determined that the Cayman Islands is the Company’s major tax jurisdiction. There were no unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. No amounts were accrued for the payment of interest and penalties at December 31, 2021. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. The Company is subject to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.
The Company is considered an exempted Cayman Islands Company and is presently not subject to income taxes or income tax filing requirements in the Cayman Islands or the United States. As such, the Company’s tax provision was zero for the period presented. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Warrant Liability:
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in “FASB ASC 480, “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”) and ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own ordinary shares, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For issued or modified warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For issued or modified warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a liability at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter. Changes in the estimated fair value of the warrants are recognized as a non-cash gain or loss on the statement of operations. Costs associated with issuing the warrants accounted for as liabilities are charged to operations when the warrants are issued.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements:
In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, “Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options” (Subtopic 470-20) and “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2024 for smaller reporting companies and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the pronouncement will have on the financial statements.
Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.
F-11
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Subsequent Events:
The Company evaluated subsequent events and transactions that occurred after the date of the balance sheet through the date that the financial statements were issued and has concluded that all such events that would require adjustment or disclosure in the financial statement have been recognized or disclosed.
Note 3 – Public Offering
On
January 14, 2021, the Company consummated the Public Offering and sale of
The
Company had granted the underwriters a 45-day option to purchase up to
The
Company paid an underwriting discount of
Note 4 – Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares:
During
2020, the Sponsor purchased
F-12
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
The
Sponsor agreed to forfeit up to
In
addition to the vesting provisions of the Founder Shares discussed in this Note 4, the Company’s initial shareholders have agreed
not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Founder Shares until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of the Company’s
initial Business Combination, or (B), subsequent to the Company’s initial Business Combination, if (x) the last sale price
of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $
Private Placement Warrants:
The
Sponsor purchased from the Company an aggregate of
If the Company does not complete a Business Combination, then the proceeds from the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will be part of the liquidating distribution to the public shareholders and the Private Placement Warrants issued to the Sponsor will expire worthless.
Registration Rights:
The Company’s initial shareholders and the holders of the Private Placement Warrants are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration and shareholder rights agreement. These holders will be entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form registration demands, that the Company register such securities for sale under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders will have “piggy-back” registration rights to include their securities in other registration statements filed by the Company. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. There will be no penalties associated with delays in registering the securities under the registration and shareholder rights agreement.
Related Party Loans:
In
November 2020, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company up to an aggregate of $
F-13
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Administrative Services Agreement:
The
Company has agreed to pay $
Note 5 – Accounting for Warrant Liability
At
December 31, 2021, there were
The Company accounts for its warrants outstanding as liabilities consistent with the “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC’s)” issued on April 12, 2021 by the staff (the “Staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC. The Staff Statement, among other things, highlights the potential accounting implications of certain terms that are common in warrants issued in connection with the initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPAC”) and calls into question the common practice among SPAC’s, including the Company, of classifying the public and private warrants issued in connection with the SPAC’s public offering as equity. As a result of this guidance, the Company’s management further evaluated its public and private warrants under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity including with the assistance of accounting and valuation consultants and concluded that the Company’s warrants are not indexed to the Company’s ordinary shares in the manner contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-15 because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares.
The following table presents information about the Company’s warrant liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value.
| Description | At
December 31, 2021 | Quoted Prices in Active Markets (Level 1) | Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2) | Significant Other Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) | ||||||||||||
| Warrant Liabilities: | ||||||||||||||||
| Public Warrants | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| Private Placement Warrants | ||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liability at December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
At December 31, 2021, the Company values its (a) public warrants based on the closing price at December 31, 2021 in an active market and (b) its private placement warrants based on the closing price of the public warrants since they are similar instruments.
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2021:
| Public | Private Placement | Warrant Liabilities | ||||||||||
| Fair value measurement on December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Fair value at inception of the warrants on January 14, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Change in fair value | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
F-14
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
The warrant liabilities are not subject to qualified hedge accounting.
The Company’s policy is to record transfers at the end of the reporting period.
The public warrants were transferred from Level 3 to Level 1, and the private placement warrants were transferred from Level 3 to Level 2, during the period ended June 30, 2021. The following table presents the changes in the fair value of the Level 3 warrant liabilities:
| Private | Warrant | |||||||||||
| Placement | Public | Liabilities | ||||||||||
| Initial measurement on January 14, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Change in fair value of Public and Private Placement Warrants from January 12 to March 31, 2021 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||
| Transfer to Level 1 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Transfer to Level 2 | ( | ) | ( | ) | ||||||||
| Fair value of Level 3 warrant liabilities as of December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
Transfers
to/from Levels 1, 2 and 3 are recognized at the end of the reporting period in which a change in valuation technique or methodology occurs.
The estimated fair value of the Public Warrants transferred from a Level 3 measurement to a Level 1 fair value measurement during the
year ended December 31, 2021 was $
Note 6 – Trust Account and Fair Value Measurement
The Company complies with FASB ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually.
Upon
the closing of the Public Offering and the Private Placement, a total of $
In
April 2021, the Company’s U.S. government treasury bills yielding approximately
F-15
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2021 and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value. Since all of the Company’s permitted investments at December 31, 2021 consisted of money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which invest only in direct U.S. government obligations U.S. government treasury bills, fair values of its investments are determined by Level 1 inputs utilizing quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as follows:
| Carrying Value at | Gross
Unrealized | Quoted Price in Active | ||||||||||
| Description | December 31, 2021 | Holding
Gains | Markets (Level 1) | |||||||||
| Assets: | ||||||||||||
| Money Market Fund | ||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
There were no assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020.
Note 7 – Restatement of Previously Issued Balance Sheet
Public and Private Placement Warrants
The Company accounts for its warrants outstanding as liabilities consistent with the “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPAC’s)” issued on April 12, 2021 by the staff (the “Staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC. The Staff Statement, among other things, highlights the potential accounting implications of certain terms that are common in warrants issued in connection with the initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies (“SPAC”) and calls into question the common practice among SPAC’s, including the Company, of classifying the public and private warrants issued in connection with the SPAC’s public offering as equity. As a result of this guidance, the Company’s management further evaluated its public and private warrants under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Subtopic 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity including with the assistance of accounting and valuation consultants and concluded that the Company’s warrants are not indexed to the Company’s ordinary shares in the manner contemplated by ASC Section 815-40-15 because the holder of the instrument is not an input into the pricing of a fixed-for-fixed option on equity shares.
In
its closing balance sheet as of January 14, 2021 prepared in connection with the Public Offering and filed with the SEC on January 21,
2021, the Company accounted for its outstanding public and private warrants as components of equity instead of as derivative liabilities. The
impact of accounting for public and private warrants as liabilities at fair value resulted in approximately a $
Class A Ordinary Shares Subject to Redemption:
The
Company has determined that since all of the Class A ordinary shares are redeemable all such shares should be accounted for as redeemable
in such companies’ financial statements. Previously, most SPACs, including the Company, accounted for all but the amount necessary
to have $
As a result of the above, the Company has recorded all outstanding Class A ordinary shares as Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption in the December 31, 2021 balance sheet. The effect of these changes (warrant liability and Class A ordinary shares subject to redemption) on the Company’s previously issued balance sheet at January 14, 2021 as it was originally issued is as follows:
| As Previously | Adjustment | As Restated | ||||||||||
| Balance Sheet at January 14, 2021 | ||||||||||||
| Warrant liability | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Class A ordinary shares subject to possible redemption | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | |||||||
| Retained earnings (Accumulated deficit) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||
| Total shareholders’ equity (deficit) | $ | $ | ( | ) | $ | ( | ) | |||||
| Class A ordinary shares outstanding | ( | ) | ||||||||||
The changes described did not have any impact on the Company’s cash position, the balance held in its trust account or its total assets.
F-16
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Note 8 – Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit)
Ordinary Shares:
The
authorized ordinary shares of the Company include
The Founder Shares are subject to vesting as follows: 50% upon the completion of a business combination and then an additional 12.5% on the attainment of each of a series of certain “shareholder return” targets exceeding 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%, as further defined in the agreement. Certain events, as defined in the agreement, could trigger an immediate vesting under certain circumstances. Founder Shares that do not vest within an eight-year period from the closing of the business combination will be cancelled.
At
December 31, 2021 and 2020, after the January 2021 share recapitalization of Class B ordinary shares and the Public Offering including
Class A ordinary shares, there were
Public Warrants:
Each whole Redeemable Warrant offered in the Public Offering is exercisable to purchase one share of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares. Only whole Redeemable Warrants may be exercised. Under the terms of the warrant agreement, the Company has agreed to use its best efforts to file a new registration statement under the Securities Act, following the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Redeemable Warrants. If, upon exercise of the Redeemable Warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, the Company will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the Redeemable Warrant holder. Each Redeemable Warrant will become exercisable on the later of 30 days after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or 12 months from the closing of the Public Offering and will expire five years after the completion of the Company’s initial Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. However, if the Company does not complete its initial Business Combination on or prior to the 24-month period, January 14, 2023, allotted to complete the Business Combination, the Redeemable Warrants will expire at the end of such period. If the Company is unable to deliver registered Class A ordinary shares to the holder upon exercise of a Redeemable Warrant during the exercise period, there will be no net cash settlement of these Redeemable Warrants and the Redeemable Warrants will expire worthless, unless they may be exercised on a cashless basis in the circumstances described in the warrant agreement. Once the Redeemable Warrants become exercisable, the Company may redeem the outstanding Redeemable 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, only in the event that the last sale price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within the 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the Redeemable Warrant holders, and that certain other conditions are met. Once the Redeemable Warrants become exercisable, the Company may also redeem the outstanding Redeemable Warrants in whole and not in part at a price of $0.10 per Warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption, only in the event that the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per share on the trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption, and that certain other conditions are met. If the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders, the Private Placement Warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding Public Warrants, as described above. If issued, the Distributable Redeemable Warrants are identical to the Redeemable Warrants.
F-17
Global Partner Acquisition Corp II
Notes to Financial Statements
Preference Shares:
The
Company is authorized to issue
Note 9 – Commitments and Contingencies
Risks and Uncertainties—COVID-19—Management continues to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and has concluded that while it is reasonably possible that the virus could have an effect on the Company’s financial position, results of its operations and/or search for a target company and/or a target company’s financial position and results of its operations, 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.
F-18
EXHIBIT INDEX
| * | Filed herewith |
| ** | Furnished herewith |
| (1) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s current report on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on January 15, 2021. |
| (2) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1, filed on December 21, 2020. |
| (3) | Incorporated by reference to the Company’s registration statement on Form S-1/A, filed on December 31, 2020. |
80
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| March 18, 2022 | Global Partner Acquisition Corp II | |
| By: | /s/ Paul J. Zepf | |
Name: Title: |
Paul J. Zepf Chief Executive Officer | |
| (Principal Executive Officer) | ||
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
| Name | Position | Date | ||
| /s/ Paul J. Zepf | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | March 18, 2022 | ||
| Paul J. Zepf | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ David Apseloff | Chief Financial Officer | March 18, 2022 | ||
| David Apseloff | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Pano Anthos | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| Pano Anthos | ||||
| /s/ Andrew Cook | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| Andrew Cook | ||||
| /s/ Gary DiCamillo | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| Gary DiCamillo | ||||
| /s/ Claudia Hollingsworth | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| Claudia Hollingsworth | ||||
| /s/ William Kerr | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| William Kerr | ||||
| /s/ James McCann | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| James McCann | ||||
| /s/ Jay Ripley | Director | March 18, 2022 | ||
| Jay Ripley | ||||
81
Exhibit 4.6
DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES
REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED
As of December 31, 2021, Global Partner Acquisition Corp II (“we,” “our,” “us” or the “Company”) had the following three classes of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”): (i) its units, consisting of one Class A ordinary share, one-sixth of one redeemable warrant and the contingent right to receive, in certain circumstances, following the initial business combination redemption time, another one-sixth of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one Class A ordinary share (the “units”), (ii) its Class A ordinary shares, $0.0001 par value per share, and (iii) its warrants, with each whole warrant exercisable for one Class A ordinary share for $11.50.
We are a Cayman Islands exempted company and our affairs are governed by our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Law and the common law of the Cayman Islands. Pursuant to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association, we are authorized to issue 500,000,000 Class A ordinary shares and 50,000,000 Class B ordinary shares, as well as 5,000,000 preference shares, $0.0001 par value each. The following description summarizes the material terms of our securities 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.
Defined terms used herein but not otherwise defined shall have the meaning ascribed to such terms in the Report.
Units
Each unit consists of one Class A ordinary share, one-sixth of one redeemable warrant (the “detachable redeemable warrants”) and the contingent right to receive, in certain circumstances, following the initial business combination redemption time, another one-sixth of one redeemable warrant (collectively, the “distributable redeemable warrants” and, together with the detachable redeemable warrants, the “redeemable warrants”). 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 below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise warrants only for a whole number of the Company’s Class A ordinary shares.
The contingent right to receive distributable redeemable warrants will remain attached to our Class A ordinary shares, will not be separately transferable, assignable or salable and will not be evidenced by any certificate or instrument. Once our distributable redeemable warrants are issued, such warrants will be fungible with our detachable redeemable warrants. The distributable redeemable warrants are expected to be eligible for trading on the day that they are distributed, and will trade under the same stock symbol as our detachable redeemable warrants.
Ordinary Shares
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. 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.
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 calculated as of two business days prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein.
Our sponsor and each member of our management team have entered into an agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with (i) the completion of our initial business combination, and (ii) a shareholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (A) that would modify the substance or timing of our obligation to provide holders of our Class A ordinary shares the right to have their shares redeemed in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering or during any extended time that we have to consummate a business combination beyond 24 months as a result of a shareholder vote to amend our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association (“Extension Period”) or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares or pre-initial business combination activity.
If we seek shareholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting.
If we seek shareholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated memorandum and articles of association provide that a public shareholder, together with any affiliate of such shareholder or any other person with whom such shareholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to a number of shares exceeding 15% of the shares issued in our initial public offering (“Excess Shares”), without our prior consent. However, we would not be restricting our shareholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. 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 our 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, we will complete our initial business combination only if we obtain the approval of an ordinary resolution under Cayman Islands law, being the affirmative vote of a majority of the ordinary shares represented in person or by proxy and entitled to vote thereon and who vote at a general meeting.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a 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 public shareholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash at a per share price equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our income taxes, if any, divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described in the Report.
Warrants
Each whole redeemable 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 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, except as discussed in the immediately succeeding paragraph. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of Class A ordinary shares. The redeemable 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.
2
We will not be obligated to deliver any Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of a redeemable 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 prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No redeemable warrant will be exercisable and we will not be obligated to issue a Class A ordinary share upon exercise of a warrant unless the Class A ordinary share issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a redeemable warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the Class A ordinary share underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than twenty business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants, and we will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares until the warrants expire or are redeemed, as specified in the warrant agreement; provided that if our Class A ordinary shares are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. If a registration statement covering the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrant holders 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, but we will use our commercially reasonably efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. 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 lesser of (A) 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) less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361 per warrant. The “fair market value” as used in this paragraph shall mean the volume-weighted average price of the Class A ordinary shares for the 10 trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
Our redeemable warrants include our detachable redeemable warrants and our distributable redeemable warrants. Each unit includes one-sixth of one detachable redeemable warrant and the contingent right to receive one-sixth of one redeemable warrant following the initial business combination redemption time under certain circumstances and subject to adjustment as further described below.
At the distribution time, we will effect a distribution of a number of warrants up to the number of units issued in our initial public offering multiplied by one-sixth, or 5,000,000 warrants (the “Aggregate Warrant Amount”) as follows: (i) to the extent that no public shareholders redeem their public shares in connection with our initial business combination, each public shareholder will receive one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant per public share held and (ii) to the extent that any public shareholders redeem any of their public shares in connection with our initial business combination, then (A) one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant will be distributed to the holder of each remaining public share and (B) no distributable redeemable warrants will be distributed in respect of any public shares that were redeemed. Public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights are not entitled to receive any distribution of distributable redeemable warrants in respect of such redeemed public shares. If any such redemptions occur, the distributable redeemable warrants attached to the redeemed public shares will not be redistributed, and the total number of distributable redeemable warrants issued will be fewer than 5,000,000. The distribution time will be immediately after the initial business combination redemption time and immediately prior to the closing of our initial business combination.
3
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $18.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding redeemable warrants (except 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 to each warrant holder; |
| ➤ | if, and only if, the closing price of the Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
We will not redeem the warrants as described above unless a registration statement under the Securities Act covering the issuance of the Class A ordinary shares issuable upon exercise of the redeemable warrants is then effective and a current prospectus relating to those Class A ordinary shares is available throughout the 30-day redemption period. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws.
Redemption of warrants when the price per Class A ordinary share equals or exceeds $10.00. Once the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (except with respect to the private placement warrants):
| ➤ | in whole and not in part; |
| ➤ | at $0.10 per warrant upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption provided that holders will be able to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis prior to redemption and receive that number of shares determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares (as defined below) except as otherwise described below; |
| ➤ | if, and only if, the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares equals or exceeds $10.00 per public share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
| ➤ | if the closing price of our Class A ordinary shares is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for adjustments to the number of shares issuable upon exercise or the exercise price of a warrant) for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three trading days before we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders, the private placement warrants must also concurrently be called for redemption on the same terms as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. |
Beginning on the date the notice of redemption is given until the warrants are redeemed or exercised, holders may elect to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. The numbers in the table below represent the number of Class A ordinary shares that a warrant holder will receive upon such cashless exercise in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, based on the “fair market value” of our Class A ordinary shares on the corresponding redemption date (assuming holders elect to exercise their warrants and such warrants are not redeemed for $0.10 per warrant), determined for these purposes based on the volume-weighted average price of our Class A ordinary shares as reported during the ten trading days immediately following the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, and the number of months that the corresponding redemption date precedes the expiration date of the warrants, each as set forth in the table below. We will provide our warrant holders with the final fair market value no later than one business day after the 10-trading day period described above ends.
Pursuant to the warrant agreement, references above to Class A ordinary shares shall include a security other than Class A ordinary shares into which the Class A ordinary shares have been converted or exchanged for in the event we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination. The numbers in the table below will not be adjusted when determining the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
4
The share prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant or the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted as set forth under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below. If the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant is adjusted, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the share prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the exercise price of the warrant after such adjustment and the denominator of which is the price of the warrant immediately prior to such adjustment. In such an event, the number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted by multiplying such share amounts by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. If the exercise price of a warrant is adjusted, (a) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the fifth paragraph under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price as set forth under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” and the denominator of which is $10.00 and (b) in the case of an adjustment pursuant to the second paragraph under the heading “—Anti-dilution Adjustments” below, the adjusted share prices in the column headings will equal the unadjusted share price less the decrease in the exercise price of a warrant pursuant to such exercise price adjustment.
| Redemption Date | Fair Market Value of Class A Ordinary Shares | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (period to expiration of warrants) | ≤10.00 | 11.00 | 12.00 | 13.00 | 14.00 | 15.00 | 16.00 | 17.00 | ≥18.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 60 months | 0.261 | 0.281 | 0.297 | 0.311 | 0.324 | 0.337 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 57 months | 0.257 | 0.277 | 0.294 | 0.310 | 0.324 | 0.337 | 0.348 | 0.358 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 54 months | 0.252 | 0.272 | 0.291 | 0.307 | 0.322 | 0.335 | 0.347 | 0.357 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 51 months | 0.246 | 0.268 | 0.287 | 0.304 | 0.320 | 0.333 | 0.346 | 0.357 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 48 months | 0.241 | 0.263 | 0.283 | 0.301 | 0.317 | 0.332 | 0.344 | 0.356 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 45 months | 0.235 | 0.258 | 0.279 | 0.298 | 0.315 | 0.330 | 0.343 | 0.356 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 42 months | 0.228 | 0.252 | 0.274 | 0.294 | 0.312 | 0.328 | 0.342 | 0.355 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 39 months | 0.221 | 0.246 | 0.269 | 0.290 | 0.309 | 0.325 | 0.340 | 0.354 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 36 months | 0.213 | 0.239 | 0.263 | 0.285 | 0.305 | 0.323 | 0.339 | 0.353 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 33 months | 0.205 | 0.232 | 0.257 | 0.280 | 0.301 | 0.320 | 0.337 | 0.352 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30 months | 0.196 | 0.224 | 0.250 | 0.274 | 0.297 | 0.316 | 0.335 | 0.351 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27 months | 0.185 | 0.214 | 0.242 | 0.268 | 0.291 | 0.313 | 0.332 | 0.350 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24 months | 0.173 | 0.204 | 0.233 | 0.260 | 0.285 | 0.308 | 0.329 | 0.348 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21 months | 0.161 | 0.193 | 0.223 | 0.252 | 0.279 | 0.304 | 0.326 | 0.347 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18 months | 0.146 | 0.179 | 0.211 | 0.242 | 0.271 | 0.298 | 0.322 | 0.345 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15 months | 0.130 | 0.164 | 0.197 | 0.230 | 0.262 | 0.291 | 0.317 | 0.342 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 months | 0.111 | 0.146 | 0.181 | 0.216 | 0.250 | 0.282 | 0.312 | 0.339 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9 months | 0.090 | 0.125 | 0.162 | 0.199 | 0.237 | 0.272 | 0.305 | 0.336 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 months | 0.065 | 0.099 | 0.137 | 0.178 | 0.219 | 0.259 | 0.296 | 0.331 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 months | 0.034 | 0.065 | 0.104 | 0.150 | 0.197 | 0.243 | 0.286 | 0.326 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 0 months | — | — | 0.042 | 0.115 | 0.179 | 0.233 | 0.281 | 0.323 | 0.361 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365 or 366-day year, as applicable. For example, if the volume-weighted average price of our 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 the warrants is $11.00 per share, and at such time there are 57 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.277 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. For an example where the exact fair market value and redemption date are not as set forth in the table above, if the volume-weighted average price of our Class A 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 the warrants is $13.50 per share, and at such time there are 38 months until the expiration of the warrants, holders may choose to, in connection with this redemption feature, exercise their warrants for 0.298 Class A ordinary shares for each whole warrant. In no event will the warrants be exercisable on a cashless basis in connection with this redemption feature for more than 0.361 Class A ordinary shares per warrant (subject to adjustment). Finally, as reflected in the table above, if the warrants are out of the money and about to expire, they cannot be exercised on a cashless basis in connection with a redemption by us pursuant to this redemption feature, since they will not be exercisable for any Class A ordinary shares.
No fractional Class A ordinary shares will be issued upon exercise. If, upon exercise, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will round down to the nearest whole number of the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the holder. If, at the time of redemption, the warrants are exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares pursuant to the warrant agreement (for instance, if we are not the surviving company in our initial business combination), the warrants may be exercised for such security. At such time as the warrants become exercisable for a security other than the Class A ordinary shares, the company (or surviving company) will use its commercially reasonable efforts to register under the Securities Act the security issuable upon the exercise of the warrants.
Maximum Percentage Procedures. 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 9.8% (or such other amount as a holder may specify) of the Class A ordinary shares issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-dilution Adjustments. 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 ordinary shares. A rights offering made to all or substantially all holders of ordinary shares entitling holders to purchase Class A ordinary shares at a price less than the “historical fair market value” (as defined below) 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 and (y) the historical 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) “historical 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 all or substantially all of the holders of the Class A ordinary shares on account of such Class A ordinary shares (or other securities into which the warrants are convertible), other than (a) as described above, (b) any cash dividends or cash distributions which, when combined on a per share basis with all other cash dividends and cash distributions paid on the Class A ordinary shares during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted to appropriately reflect any other adjustments and excluding cash dividends or cash distributions that resulted in an adjustment to the exercise price or to the number of Class A ordinary shares issuable on exercise of each warrant) but only with respect to the amount of the aggregate cash dividends or cash distributions equal to or less than $0.50 per share, (c) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of Class A ordinary shares in 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 (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 our initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to the rights of holders of our Class A ordinary shares 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.
6
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 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 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) (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 Class A 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, the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $10.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
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 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 Class A ordinary 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. However, if such holders were entitled to exercise a right of election as to the kind or amount of securities, cash or other assets receivable upon such consolidation or merger, then the kind and amount of securities, cash or other assets for which each warrant will become exercisable will be deemed to be the weighted average of the kind and amount received per share by such holders in such consolidation or merger that affirmatively make such election, and if a tender, exchange or redemption offer has been made to and accepted by such holders (other than a tender, exchange or redemption offer made by the company in connection with redemption rights held by shareholders of the company as provided for in the company’s amended and restated memorandum and articles of association or as a result of the redemption of Class A ordinary shares by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the shareholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) of which such maker is a part, and together with any affiliate or associate of such maker (within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act) and any members of any such group of which any such affiliate or associate is a part, own beneficially (within the meaning of Rule 13d-3 under the Exchange Act) more than 50% of the issued and outstanding Class A ordinary shares, the holder of a warrant will be entitled to receive the highest amount of cash, securities or other property to which such holder would actually have been entitled as a shareholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the Class A ordinary shares held by such holder had been purchased pursuant to such tender or exchange offer, subject to adjustment (from and after the consummation of such tender or exchange offer) as nearly equivalent as possible to the adjustments provided for in the warrant agreement. 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 thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant. The 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. 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.
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The warrants are issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity or correcting any mistake, including to conform the provisions of the warrant agreement to the description of the terms of the warrants and the warrant agreement set forth in the prospectus for our initial public offering, or defective provision (ii) amending the provisions relating to cash dividends on ordinary shares as contemplated by and in accordance with the warrant agreement or (iii) adding or changing any provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties to the warrant agreement may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem to not adversely affect the rights of the registered holders of the warrants, provided that the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then-outstanding public warrants is required to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which has been filed as an exhibit to our Current Report on Form 8-K filed January 15, 2021, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares and 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 redeemable warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number the number of Class A ordinary shares to be issued to the warrant holder.
Contingent Rights
A contingent right to receive distributable redeemable warrants will be attached to each Class A ordinary share. In accordance with the terms of the contingent rights agreement, each holder of a contingent right will receive, at the distribution time, one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant, as follows: (i) to the extent that no public shareholders redeem their Class A ordinary shares issued in our initial public offering (whether acquired in the offering or afterwards) in connection with our initial business combination, each public shareholder will receive one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant per public share held and (ii) to the extent that any public shareholders redeem any of their public shares in connection with our initial business combination, then (A) one-sixth of one distributable redeemable warrant will be distributed to the holder of each public share that was not redeemed and (B) no distributable redeemable warrants will be distributed in respect of any public shares that were redeemed. Public shareholders who exercise their redemption rights are not entitled to receive any distributable redeemable warrants in respect of such redeemed public shares or any contingent rights, and the contingent rights attached to those ordinary shares will be worthless after such redemption. No fractional distributable redeemable warrants shall be distributed; fractional warrants will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of warrants. As a result, you must hold contingent rights in multiples of six in order to receive distributable redeemable warrants for all of your rights upon closing of a business combination. The contingent right to receive distributable redeemable warrants will remain attached to our Class A ordinary shares, will not be separately transferable, assignable or salable and will not be evidenced by any certificate or instrument. As a result, you may not buy or sell a contingent right separately from the Class A ordinary share to which it is attached.
No additional consideration will be required to be paid by a holder of contingent rights in order to receive distributable redeemable warrants at the distribution time. Contingent rights holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of ordinary shares or any voting rights. The terms of the contingent rights agreement may be amended by the Company and the rights agent without the consent of any holder of any contingent right for the purpose of curing any ambiguity, or of curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision contained therein or adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the contingent rights agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable; provided, however, that any amendment that will adversely affect the interests of holders of contingent rights will require the consent or vote of the holders of not less than two-thirds of the then-outstanding contingent rights, as evidenced by their ownership of the ordinary shares. You should review a copy of the contingent rights agreement, which will be filed as an exhibit to the Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 15, 2021, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the contingent rights.
If we are unable to complete an initial business combination within the required time period and we liquidate the funds held in the trust account, holders of contingent rights will not receive any such funds with respect to their contingent rights, nor will they receive any distribution from our assets held outside of the trust account with respect to such contingent rights, and the contingent rights will expire worthless.
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Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14(a) AND RULE 15d-14(a)
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I Paul J. Zepf, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Global Partner Acquisition Corp II; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| March 18, 2022 | By: | /s/ Paul J. Zepf |
| Paul J. Zepf | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-14(a) AND RULE 15d-14(a)
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, David Apseloff, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Global Partner Acquisition Corp II; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have: |
| a) | Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared; |
| b) | Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
| c) | Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and |
| d) | Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and |
| 5. | The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| (a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| (b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
| March 18, 2022 | By: | /s/ David Apseloff |
| David Apseloff | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) |
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Global Partner Acquisition Corp II (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Paul J. Zepf, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| 2. | To my knowledge, the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the Report. |
| March 18, 2022 | By: | /s/ Paul J. Zepf |
| Paul J. Zepf | ||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
Exhibit 32.2
CERTIFICATION OF THE PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER
PURSUANT TO 18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Global Partner Acquisition Corp II (the “Company”) for the year ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, David Apseloff, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
| 1. | The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and |
| 2. | To my knowledge, the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company as of and for the period covered by the report. |
| March 18, 2022 | By: | /s/ David Apseloff |
| David Apseloff | ||
| Chief Financial Officer | ||
| (Principal Financial Officer) |