Sable Offshore Corp 10-K for FY2021
Sable Offshore Corp. (SOC)
10-K
2022-04-04
For: 2021-12-31
View Original
Added on
April 11, 2026
About this 10-K
Sable Offshore Corp filed this 10-K on April 4, 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
- $4.27M
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
☒ |
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2021
☐ |
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-40111
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) | |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
(Zip Code) | |
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:
(713 ) 579-6106
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class: |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered: | ||
one-half of one warrant |
||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a
non-accelerated
filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2
of the Exchange Act. | Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||
Non-accelerated filer |
☒ | Smaller reporting company | ||||
| Emerging growth company | ||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 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 ☒ No ☐
12b-2
of the Exchange Act). Yes Auditor Firm ID: |
Auditor Name: |
Auditor Location: |
As of June 30, 2021, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the Registrant’s Class A common stock held by 271,735,800 .
non-affiliates
was approximately $At March 28, 2022, there were
shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, and
shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, issued and outstanding.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Item 1. |
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Item 1A. |
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Item 1B. |
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Item 2. |
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Item 3. |
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Item 6. |
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Item 7. |
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Item 7A. |
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Item 8. |
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Item 9. |
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Item 9A. |
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Item 9B. |
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Item 9C. |
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Item 10. |
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Item 11. |
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Item 13. |
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Item 14 . |
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Item 15. |
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Item 16. |
Form 10-K Summary | 76 | ||||
i
Unless otherwise stated in this annual report on Form
10-K,
references to: | • | “we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Flame Acquisition Corp.; |
| • | “Board” refers to our board of directors; |
| • | “common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively; |
| • | “equity-linked securities” are to are to any securities of our company which are convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, shares of Class A common stock of our company, issued in a financing transaction in connection with our initial business combination, including but not limited to a private placement of equity or debt; |
| • | “FL Co-Investment” are to FL Co-Investment LLC, an affiliate of Cowen and Company, LLC; |
| • | “founders” are to our sponsor, FL Co-Investment LLC and Intrepid Financial Partners; |
| • | “founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our founders in a private placement prior to our initial public offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as provided herein; |
| • | “initial stockholders” are to our founders and any other holders of our founder shares prior to our initial public offering; |
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| • | “Intrepid Financial Partners” are to Intrepid Financial Partners, L.L.C., an affiliate of Intrepid Partners, LLC; |
| • | “management” or our “management team” refers to our officers; |
| • | “private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our initial stockholders in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering; |
| • | “public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in the initial public offering or thereafter in the open market); |
| • | “public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and members of our management team, Board to the extent any of them purchases public shares, provided that each such initial stockholder’s and individual’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares; |
| • | “public warrants” are to our warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination; |
| • | “specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class of equity or equity-linked securities to specified purchasers that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination; |
| • | “sponsor” are to Flame Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
| • | “units” are the units sold in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and the units sold upon the underwriters’ exercise of their over-allotment option; and |
| • | “warrants” are to our warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants. |
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 Annual Report on Form 10-K
may include, for example, statements about: | • | our ability to select an appropriate target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination; |
| • | our ability to consummate an initial business combination due to the continued uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; |
| • | our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination; |
| • | our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination; |
| • | our pool of prospective target businesses; |
| • | the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities; |
| • | our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading; |
| • | the lack of a market for our securities; |
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| • | the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; |
| • | the trust account not being subject to claims of third parties; or |
| • | our financial performance following our initial public offering. |
The forward-looking statements contained in this annual report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the section of this annual report entitled “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
PART I
Item 1. |
Business |
Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated on October 16, 2020 as a Delaware corporation and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses, which we refer to throughout this report as our initial business combination. Although we may pursue our initial business combination in any business, industry or geographic location, we currently intend to focus on opportunities that capitalize on the expertise and ability of our management team, particularly our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, James C. Flores, to identify, acquire and operate a business in the energy industry, primarily targeting the upstream exploration and production sector, midstream sector and companies focused on new advancing technologies that are transformative and provide the potential for and means to achieve greater profitability in the broader energy sector.
Significant Activities Since Inception
On March 1, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units, including 3,875,000 additional units to cover over-allotments. Each unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Class A common stock”), and
one-half
of one warrant, each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. The units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per unit, generating gross proceeds of $287,500,000. Simultaneously with the consummation of the initial public offering and the sale of the units, we consummated the private placement (“private placement”) of an aggregate of 7,750,000 warrants to our sponsor, FL Co-Investment,
Intrepid Financial Partners and certain individuals at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating total proceeds of $7,750,000. A total of $287.5 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering (including the over-allotment) and the private placement with our sponsor, FL
Co-Investment,
Intrepid Financial Partners and certain individuals were deposited in a trust account established for the benefit of our public stockholders. Our units began trading on February 25, 2021 on the NYSE under the symbol “FLME.U”. On April 19, 2021, the securities comprising the units began separate trading. The common stock and warrants trade on the NYSE under the symbols “FLME” and “FLME.WS,” respectively.
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Acquisition Criteria
Consistent with our strategy, we have identified the following general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses and, in evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct a thorough due diligence review that will encompass, among other things, meetings with incumbent management and employees, document reviews and inspection of facilities, as applicable, as well as a review of financial and other information that will be made available to us.
| • | Attractive Returns |
| • | Significant Free Cash Flow |
| • | Low Risk Development Upside |
| • | High Operational Control |
| • | Conservative Leverage Profile |
| • | Bolt-on Acquisition Opportunitiesfollow-on acquisition opportunities that allow us to leverage its initial operating platform and realize operating and financial synergies associated with consolidation. |
| • | Access to Infrastructure and End Markets |
| • | Health, Safety and Environmental Stewardship |
These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that from time to time our management may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our shareholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this annual report, would be in the form of proxy solicitation or tender offer materials that we would file with the SEC.
Our Business Strategy
Our acquisition and value creation strategy is to identify and acquire businesses with high quality assets with substantial upside potential supported by substantial free cash flow, and significant operational control that we believe provide attractive long-term capital returns. Fundamentally sound businesses can underperform their full potential due to numerous factors, including periods of dislocation in the markets in which they operate, excessive operating cost structures, over-levered capital structures, underinvestment, lack of access to capital, general mismanagement and/or misguided business strategies. Our team has extensive experience in identifying and executing such acquisitions in the energy industry across multiple energy market cycles.
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We expect to develop our pipeline of opportunities for a potential business combination through our team’s substantial experience, deep relationships and extensive network of corporate executives, board members, private equity firms, family offices, investment bankers, lawyers, investors, lenders and other service providers to the industry. By utilizing this approach in the past, members of our team have helped build large public and private platforms in the energy space.
Our selection process will leverage our team’s broad and deep relationship network, distinct industry experiences and extensive deal-sourcing capabilities to access a broad spectrum of differentiated target opportunities. We expect to utilize this network which was developed through our team’s broad experience, with demonstrated success in both investing in and operating businesses in the E&P and midstream sectors and at various stages of these companies’ life cycles. We have developed a distinctive combination of capabilities, which includes:
| • | an established track record of building industry-leading companies; |
| • | growing companies with accretive acquisitions under various market conditions by leveraging our extensive deal-sourcing network and employing our proven transaction execution/structuring capabilities; |
| • | deploying value creation strategies, including delivering operating efficiencies through balanced cost reduction and production growth and allocating capital spending to high-return opportunities; and |
| • | extensive capital markets experience across various business cycles, including financing businesses and assisting companies with transition to public ownership. |
We intend to focus our efforts on opportunities where our team’s strategic vision, operating expertise, deep relationships and capital markets experience can be catalysts to enhance the growth, competitive position and financial upside in an initial business combination. We intend to identify and execute an initial business combination within the energy value chain in the United States, although we may pursue targets in any business, industry, sector or geographical location. Our team has an established history in identifying and capitalizing on key trends that have shaped the energy industry and has helped build leading platforms to scale within the marketplace.
Our Management Team and Board of Directors
James Flores
All-American
Wildcatters in 1999. He was recognized as the Executive of the Year in 2004 in Oil and Gas Investor magazine. Gregory Patrinely
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Christopher Sarofim
co-manager
of the mutual funds that Fayez Sarofim & Co. sub-advises
for BNY Mellon and a portfolio manager for a variety of institutional and high net worth clients. Mr. Sarofim joined the firm in 1988 as an associate. Gregory Pipkin
Co-founder
at NRI Energy. Prior to NRI, Mr. Pipkin served as a Managing Director in Barclays Investment Banking division in Houston, Texas. He was also Head of the Upstream Vertical team within the firm’s Natural Resources Group of the Investment Banking Division. After the financial crisis in 2008, Mr. Pipkin and the entire Lehman Brothers Houston office of 40 professionals joined Barclays. He has more than 30 years of experience advising upstream entities in both strategic roles and financing capacities as an underwriter. Michael Dillard
Co-Chair
of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice until January 2021. Mr. Dillard’s practice encompassed extensive aspects of corporate and securities law, with special emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and securities offerings for companies in the energy industry. During his career, Mr. Dillard has been involved in M&A transactions valued in excess of $200 billion, including nine multibillion-dollar transactions. In the energy industry, he has been involved in M&A transactions valued in excess of $100 billion. In addition, Mr. Dillard has been involved in the issuance of debt and equity securities valued in excess of $50 billion, both publicly and pursuant to Rule 144A, on behalf of both issuers and underwriters. We will further be supported by our team of advisors from leading global companies with a wide range of experience in the energy industry. This support is intended to provide us with access to their expertise and extensive industry networks from which we plan to source and evaluate targets as well as devise plans to optimize any business that we acquire.
Members of our management team and Board are not required to commit any specific amount of time to our affairs, but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process. Accordingly, our officers and directors may have conflicts of interest in allocating management time among various business activities, including identifying potential business combinations and monitoring the related due diligence.
Industry Opportunity
We believe our team’s extensive and diversified experience in the energy industry will help us to effectively evaluate acquisition targets. We believe that assets in the energy value chain continue to be compelling and attractive for a number of reasons:
| • | Strong Core Industry Fundamentals COVID-19 pandemic by reducing growth capital spending. Natural gas is also viewed as a bridge fuel to more sustainable and environmentally-friendly forms of electricity generation. The United States has recently become a global leader in natural gas resource development and is a growing LNG exporter. We believe investors have fundamentally changed their investment criteria for the E&P industry from high production growth targets to disciplined growth, focusing primarily on total returns and returns of cash to investors. |
| • | Large Target Market start-ups to large corporations. Many non-investment grade companies have struggled with excess leverage and have been forced to restructure their operations. Other companies have looked to reduce their leverage through asset sales. Historically, the E&P industry has used asset sales as one of its key funding sources for capital spending. The absence of capital availability and an active M&A market to raise vital cash proceeds leads us to believe that many public and private companies currently lack the financial health and operating capabilities to succeed in this environment. |
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| • | Lack of Competition |
| • | Management Experience Through Cycles Required to Succeed |
Initial Business Combination
So long as our securities are then listed on the NYSE, our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the net assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the amount of any deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account) at the time of our initial business combination. We refer to this as the 80% of net assets test. If our Board is not able to independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or an independent valuation or appraisal firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our Board will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of a target business or businesses, it may be unable to do so if the Board is less familiar or experienced with the target company’s business, 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 if the anticipated transaction involves a complex financial analysis or other specialized skills and the Board determines that outside expertise would be helpful or necessary in conducting such analysis. Since any opinion, if obtained, would merely state that the fair market value of the target business meets the 80% of net assets threshold, unless such opinion includes material information regarding the valuation of a target business or the consideration to be provided, it is not anticipated that copies of such opinion would be distributed to our shareholders. However, if required under applicable law, any proxy statement that we deliver to shareholders and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (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 or businesses. 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 of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our shareholders immediately prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-business combination company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be valued for purposes of the 80% of net assets test. If the business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the target businesses. In addition, we have agreed not to enter into a definitive agreement regarding an initial business combination without the prior consent of our sponsor. If our securities are not then listed on the NYSE for whatever reason, we would no longer be required to meet the foregoing 80% of net assets test.
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To the extent we effect our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in such company or business. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all significant risk factors.
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.
Our Acquisition Process
In evaluating a prospective target business, we expect to conduct an extensive 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 and a review of financial, operational, legal, regulatory and other information about the target and its industry. We will also utilize our team’s operational and capital planning experience.
Members of our management team may directly or indirectly own our common stock and/or private placement warrants, may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors is included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.
Certain of our officers and directors presently have, 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. In addition, certain of our sponsor, officers and directors have sponsored, formed and participated in, and may, in the future, sponsor, form or participate in other blank check companies similar to ours during the period in which we are seeking an initial business combination. As a result, 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, then, subject to such officer’s and director’s fiduciary duties under Delaware law, he or she will need to honor such fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such entity, before we can pursue such opportunity. If these other entities decide to pursue any such opportunity, we may be precluded from pursuing the same. We do not believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of our officers or directors will materially affect our ability to identify and pursue business combination opportunities or to complete our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any business combination 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 the company and it is an opportunity that we are able to complete on a reasonable basis.
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 initial stockholders or any of our 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 our initial business combination is fair to our company. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.
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Status as a Public Company
We believe our structure will make us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As an existing public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination. In this situation, the owners of the target business would exchange their shares of stock in the target business for shares of our stock or for a combination of shares of our stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers. Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more certain and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. In a typical initial public offering, there are additional expenses incurred in marketing, road show and public reporting efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with a business combination with us.
Furthermore, once a proposed business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering, as well as general market conditions, which could delay or prevent the offering from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Once public, we believe the target business would then have greater access to capital and an additional means of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interests. It can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees.
We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). As such, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a
non-binding
advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile. In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We do not intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period and our election to opt out is irrevocable.
We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion (as adjusted for inflation pursuant to SEC rules from time to time), or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 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 any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates
did not exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates
did not exceed $700 million as of the prior June 30. 9
Effecting our Initial Business Combination
We intend to complete our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our capital stock, debt or a combination of these as the consideration to be paid in our initial business combination. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.
If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other assets, companies or for working capital.
We have not selected any business combination target.
We may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination (which may include a specified future issuance), and we may complete our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our tender offer documents or proxy materials disclosing the business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, including pursuant to any specified future issuance, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.
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.
Sources of Target Businesses
We expect to receive a number of proprietary transaction opportunities to evaluate as a result of the business relationships, direct outreach and deal sourcing activities of our officers and directors. In addition to the proprietary deal flow, we anticipate that target business candidates will be brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment banking firms, consultants, accounting firms, private equity groups, large business enterprises, and other market participants. These sources may also introduce us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our public filings 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. Some of our officers or directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction 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. In no event will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which they are affiliated, be paid 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, in connection with the successful completion of our initial business combination, we may determine to provide a payment to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or our or their affiliates, which payment would not be made from the proceeds of our initial public offering held in the trust account. We currently do not have any agreement or arrangement with our sponsor, any of our officers, directors, advisors or our or their affiliates to make any such payments.
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We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the acquisition through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an 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. 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
pre-existing
fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Any such entity may co-invest
with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the acquisition by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. 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 may operate after our initial business combination; and |
| • | cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services. |
Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team
Although we intend to closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’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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Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve our Initial Business Combination
We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.
| Type of Transaction |
Whether Stockholder Approval is Required |
|||
| Purchase of assets |
No | |||
| Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the company |
No | |||
| Merger of target into a subsidiary of the company |
No | |||
| Merger of the company with a target |
Yes | |||
Under the NYSE’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:
| • | we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be (a) equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding or (b) have voting power equal to or in excess of 20% of the voting power then outstanding; |
| • | any of our directors, officers or substantial security holders (as defined by the NYSE rules) has a 5% or greater interest, directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common stock or voting power of 1% or more (or 5% or more if the related party involved is classified as such solely because such person is a substantial security holder); or |
| • | the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control. |
The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination in those instances in which stockholder approval is not required by applicable law or stock exchange rule will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on business and other reasons, which include a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
| • | the timing of the transaction, including in the event we determine stockholder approval would require additional time and there is either not enough time to seek stockholder approval or doing so would place the company at a disadvantage in the transaction or result in other additional burdens on the company; |
| • | the expected cost of holding a stockholder vote; |
| • | the risk that the stockholders would fail to approve the proposed business combination; |
| • | other time and budget constraints of the company; and |
| • | additional legal complexities of a proposed business combination that would be time-consuming and burdensome to present to stockholders. |
Permitted Purchases of Our Securities
In the event we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the rules of the NYSE. 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 shares or public 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 12
under the Exchange Act. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules.
The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to (i) vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or (ii) to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our common stock may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
Our founders, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our founders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our founders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against the business combination. Our founders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.
Any purchases by our founders, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule
10b-18
under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18,
which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5
of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18
has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our founders, officers, directors, advisors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5
of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be approximately $10.00 per public share. The per-share
amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the Marketing Fee 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. Our founders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any 13
public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity. Manner of Conducting Redemptions
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure a business combination transaction with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed business combination. We intend to conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on the NYSE, we will be required to comply with such rules.
If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| • | conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and |
| • | file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination that contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies. |
Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule
10b5-1
to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5
under the Exchange Act. In the event that we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule
14e-1(a)
under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our founders, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination. 14
If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:
| • | conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules; and |
| • | file proxy materials with the SEC. |
In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.
If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased during or after our initial public offering in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted,
non-votes
will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 10,781,251, or 37.5%, of the 28,750,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of a transaction (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreement of our founders, directors and officers may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.
Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval
Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of our shares (the “Excess Shares”). We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase
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their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of our shares, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with a business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.
Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights
We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Pursuant to the tender offer rules, the tender offer period will be not less than 20 business days and, in the case of a stockholder vote, a final proxy statement would be mailed to public stockholders at least ten days prior to the stockholder vote. However, we expect that a draft proxy statement would be made available to such stockholders well in advance of such time, providing additional notice of redemption if we conduct redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.
There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $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 stockholders’ vote on an initial business combination, and a holder could simply vote against a proposed business combination and check a box on the proxy card indicating such holder was seeking to exercise his or her redemption rights. After the business combination was approved, the company would contact such stockholder to arrange for him or her to deliver his or her certificate to verify ownership. As a result, the stockholder then had an “option window” after the completion of the business combination during which he or she could monitor the price of the company’s stock in the market. If the price rose above the redemption price, he or she could sell his or her shares in the open market before actually delivering his or her shares to the company for cancellation. As a result, the redemption rights, to which stockholders were aware they needed to commit before the stockholder meeting, would become “option” rights surviving past the completion of the business combination until the redeeming holder delivered its certificate. The requirement for physical or electronic delivery prior to the meeting ensures that a redeeming holder’s election to redeem is irrevocable once the business combination is approved.
Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.
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If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.
If our initial proposed business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete a business combination with a different target until March 1, 2023.
Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have only until March 1, 2023 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 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 franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest released to us to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period. Our founders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023. However, our founders, officers or directors will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time period.
Our founders, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above) we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares. 17
We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $335,000 of proceeds held outside the trust account, although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.
If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering 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 stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.00. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.00. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest and claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver.
In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party (other than our independent auditors) for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account, except as to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. 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 will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.
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In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the
per-share
redemption price will not be less than $10.00 per public share. 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 (other than our independent auditors), 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 initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $335,000 from the proceeds of our initial public offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors, however such liability will not be greater than the amount of funds from our trust account received by any such stockholder.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a
60-day
notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day
period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day
waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, 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 franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest released to us to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible 19
following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following March 1, 2023 and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.
Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.
If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.00 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only (i) in the event of the redemption of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, subject to applicable law, (ii) in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (iii) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. 20
Competition
In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we may encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, public companies and operating businesses seeking strategic acquisitions. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than us. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses will be limited by financial resources available to us. This inherent limitation gives other competitors an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.
Employees
We currently have two executive officers and do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they intend to devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they will devote in any time period will vary based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in.
Periodic Reporting and Financial Information
We have registered our units, Class A common stock and warrants under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. In accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, our annual reports will contain financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accounting firm. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at: http://www.sec.gov. Our annual, quarterly and current reports, and any amendments to any of those reports, that we file with the SEC are available free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable through our corporate website address at http://flameacq.com. The contents of these websites are not incorporated into this filing and are not considered part of this annual report. Further, our references to the uniform resource locators, or URLs, for these websites are intended to be inactive textual references only.
We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), or the international financial reporting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”). These financial statement requirements may limit 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 by Sarbanes Oxley to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such acquisition.
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Item 1A. |
Risk Factors |
You should carefully consider all of the risks described below, together with the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form
10-K,
including the financial statements. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition or operating results may be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment. The risk factors described below are not necessarily exhaustive and you are encouraged to perform your own investigation with respect to us and our business. Risks Relating to our Search for, and Consummation of or Inability to Consummate, a Business Combination
We are a newly formed company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.
We are a newly formed company incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We have no plans, arrangements or understandings with any prospective target business concerning a business combination and may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.
Our independent registered public accounting firm’s report contains an explanatory paragraph that expresses substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a “going concern.”
As of December 31, 2021, we had $322,768 in cash and a working capital deficiency of $185,831 (not taking into account tax obligations of approximately $201,138 that may be paid using investment income earned from the Trust Account). We are also subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023. Further, we have incurred and expect to continue to incur significant costs in pursuit of an initial business combination. Management’s plans to address this need for capital are discussed in the section of this annual report titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination before March 1, 2023 will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere herein do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern.
Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though holders of a majority of our common stock do not support such a combination.
We may not hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. For instance, the rules of the NYSE currently allow us to engage in a tender offer in lieu of a general meeting, but would still require us to obtain stockholder approval if we were seeking to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock to a target business as consideration in any business combination. Therefore, if we were structuring a business combination that required us to issue more than 20% of our issued and outstanding common stock, we would seek stockholder approval of such business combination. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our common stock do not approve of the business combination we complete.
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If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.
Unlike many other blank check companies in which the initial stockholders agree to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by the public stockholders in connection with an initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any other public shares purchased in or subsequent to our initial public offering, in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need 10,781,251 or 37.5%, of the 28,750,000 public shares to be voted in favor of a transaction in order to have our initial business combination approved. Our founders own shares representing 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock . Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, it is more likely that the necessary stockholder approval will be received than would be the case if our initial stockholders agreed to vote their founder shares in accordance with the majority of the votes cast by our public stockholders.
Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the business combination.
At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of one or more target businesses. Since our Board may complete a business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.
The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into a business combination with a target.
We may seek to enter into a business combination transaction agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. If too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement that may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into a business combination transaction with us.
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.
At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many public stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and, therefore, we will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares is submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the marketing fee pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement (the “Marketing Fee”) payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with a business combination and such amount of Marketing Fee is not available for us to use as consideration in an initial business combination. The
per-share
amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the Marketing Fee and after such redemptions, the per-share
value of shares held by non-redeeming
stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the Marketing Fee. 23
The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.
If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.
The requirement that we complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating a business combination and may limit our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.
Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning a business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating a business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.
We may not be able to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we must complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. Our ability to complete our initial business combination may be negatively impacted by general market conditions, volatility in the capital and debt markets and the other risks described herein. For example, the coronavirus
(“COVID-19”)
outbreak continues to spread both in the U.S. and globally and, while the extent of the continued impact of the outbreak on us will depend on future developments, including new variants, it could limit our ability to complete our initial business combination, including as a result of increased market volatility, decreased market liquidity and third-party financing being unavailable on terms acceptable to us or at all. Additionally, the outbreak of COVID-19
may negatively impact businesses we may seek to acquire. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than 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 franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest released to us to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our Board, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. 24
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our founders, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or public warrants from public stockholders or public warrant holders, which may influence a vote on a proposed business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase public shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. There is no limit on the number of shares our founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and the rules of the NYSE. However, other than as expressly stated herein, 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 shares or public warrants in such transactions. In the event that our founders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrant holders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent the purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.
In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.
If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.
We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, the tender offer documents or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.
25
You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.
Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of our common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described in this annual report, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by March 1, 2023 subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In addition, if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by March 1, 2023 for any reason, compliance with Delaware law may require that we submit a plan of dissolution to our then-existing stockholders for approval prior to the distribution of the proceeds held in our trust account. In that case, public stockholders may be forced to wait beyond March 1, 2023 before they receive funds from our trust account. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss. The NYSE may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.
We cannot assure you that our securities will continue to be listed on the NYSE in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on the NYSE prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels.
Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with the NYSE’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than the NYSE’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on the NYSE. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, the aggregate market value of publicly-held shares would be required to be at least $100,000,000 and we would be required to have at least 400 round lot holders. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.
If the NYSE delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:
over-the-counter
| • | a limited availability of market quotations for our securities; |
| • | reduced liquidity for our securities; |
| • | a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities; |
| • | a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and |
| • | a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future. |
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because we expect that our units and eventually our Class A common stock and warrants will be listed on the NYSE, our units, Class A common stock and warrants will be covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and,
26
if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on the NYSE, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities.
You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.
Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that has not been selected, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because we have net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 and we filed a Current Report on Form
8-K,
including an audited balance sheet of the company 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 are immediately tradable and we have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if we were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination. If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not restrict our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. As a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
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
COVID-19
outbreak and the status of debt and equity markets. The
COVID-19
outbreak has and is continuing to spread throughout the world, including the United States. The COVID-19
outbreak has resulted in a widespread health crisis that has and may continue to 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
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 (including any potential resurgences of COVID-19),
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
continue for an extended period of time or other matters of global concern result in protectionist sentiments or legislation in our target markets (including, but not limited to, potential legislation targeting the phaseout of the upstream oil industry), 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. 27
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 related events could have a material adverse effect on our ability to raise adequate financing, 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. Finally, the outbreak of
COVID-19
or other infectious diseases may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this “Risk Factors” section, such as those related to the market for our securities. Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
We expect to encounter intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities, domestic and international, competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more local industry knowledge than we do and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses.
Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock that our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See
“-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until at least March 1, 2023, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least March 1, 2023, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account will be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least March 1, 2023; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a
“no-shop”
provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies 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 or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial 28
business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. See
“-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for a business combination, to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.
The funds available to us outside of the trust account to fund our working capital requirements may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until March 1, 2023, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account, together with funds available from loans from our founders will be sufficient to allow us to operate until March 1, 2023; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. 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 do not complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share upon our liquidation. In the event that our offering expenses exceed our estimate of $1,665,000, we may fund such excess with funds not to be held in the trust account. In such case, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would decrease by a corresponding amount. Conversely, in the event that the offering expenses are less than our estimate of $1,665,000, the amount of funds we intend to be held outside the trust account would increase by a corresponding amount. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to withdraw interest from the trust account as described elsewhere in this annual report and/or borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate, or we may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares.
If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the
per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share. Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers (other than our independent auditors), prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in
29
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. Making such a request of potential target businesses may make our acquisition proposal less attractive to them and, to the extent prospective target businesses refuse to execute such a waiver, it may limit the field of potential target businesses that we might pursue.
Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the
per-share
redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.00 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes as well as expenses relating to administration of the trust account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any and all rights to seek access to the trust account and except as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, then our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. We have not independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. Therefore, we 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 directors and officers will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses. Our independent directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.
In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes as well as expenses relating to administration of the trust account, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.
While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.00 per share.
30
We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.
We have agreed to indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our directors and executive officers 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. 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 directors and executive officers may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors, directors and executive officers for breach of their fiduciary duties. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and executive officers, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our directors and executive officers pursuant to these indemnification provisions.
The securities in which we invest the funds held in the trust account could bear a negative rate of interest, which could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the
per-share
redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share. The proceeds held in the trust account will be invested only in U.S. government treasury obligations with a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
under the Investment Company Act, which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. While short-term U.S. government treasury obligations currently yield a positive rate of interest, they have briefly yielded negative interest rates in recent years. Central banks in Europe and Japan pursued interest rates below zero in recent years, and the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has not ruled out the possibility that it may in the future adopt similar policies in the United States. In the event that we are unable to complete our initial business combination or make certain amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our public stockholders are entitled to receive their pro-rata
share of the proceeds held in the trust account, plus any interest income, net of taxes paid or payable (less, in the case we are unable to complete our initial business combination, $100,000 of interest). Negative interest rates could reduce the value of the assets held in trust such that the per-share
redemption amount received by public stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share. If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.
If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our Board may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.
If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the
per-share
amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced. 31
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.
If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:
| • | restrictions on the nature of our investments; and |
| • | restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. |
In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:
| • | registration as an investment company; |
| • | adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and |
| • | reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations. |
In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading of securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete a business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.
We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities will subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act that invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee will not be permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our primary business objective, which is a business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity; or (iii) absent a business combination, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete a business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See “-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. 32
Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, investments and results of operations.
We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly. Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination, investments and results of operations.
Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.
Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a
60-day
notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day
period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day
waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following March 1, 2023 in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures. Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful, then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.
We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.
In accordance with the NYSE corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Until we hold an annual meeting of stockholders, our public stockholders may not be afforded the opportunity to discuss company affairs with management.
33
The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.
Pursuant to an agreement to be entered into concurrently with the issuance and sale of the securities in our initial public offering, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register their founder shares, after those shares convert to our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination. In addition, holders of our private placement warrants and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants, and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the common stock owned by our initial stockholders, holders of our private placement warrants or holders of our working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.
Because we are not limited to a particular industry, sector, geography or any specific target businesses with which to pursue our initial business combination, you will be unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’ operations.
Although we expect to focus our search for a target business in the energy industry in North America, we may seek to complete a business combination with an operating company in any industry, geography or sector. However, we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to complete our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. Because we have not yet selected or approached any specific target business with respect to a business combination, there is no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Because we intend to seek a business combination with a target business in the energy industry in North America, we expect our future operations to be subject to risks associated with this sector.
We intend to focus our search for a target business in the energy industry. Because we have not yet identified or approached any specific target business, we cannot provide specific risks of any business combination. However, risks inherent in investments in the energy industry include, but are not limited to, the following:
| • | volatility of oil and natural gas prices; |
34
| • | price and availability of alternative fuels, such as solar, coal, nuclear and wind energy; |
| • | significant federal, state and local regulation, taxation and regulatory approval processes as well as changes in applicable legislation, laws and regulations; |
| • | denial or delay of receiving requisite regulatory approvals and/or permits; |
| • | the speculative nature of and high degree of risk involved in investments in the upstream, midstream and energy services sectors, including relying on estimates of oil and gas reserves and the impacts of regulatory and tax changes; |
| • | exploration and development risks, which could lead to environmental damage, injury and loss of life or the destruction of property; |
| • | drilling, exploration and development risks, including encountering unexpected formations or pressures, premature declines of reservoirs, blow-outs, equipment failures and other accidents, cratering, sour gas releases, uncontrollable flows of oil, natural gas or well fluids, adverse weather conditions, pollution, fires, spills and other environmental risks, any of which could lead to environmental damage, injury and loss of life or the destruction of property; |
| • | proximity and capacity of oil, natural gas and other transportation and support infrastructure to production facilities; |
| • | availability of key inputs, such as strategic consumables and raw materials and drilling and processing equipment; |
| • | available pipeline, storage and other transportation capacity; |
| • | changes in global supply and demand and prices for commodities; |
| • | impact of energy conservation efforts; |
| • | technological advances affecting energy production and consumption; |
| • | overall domestic and global economic conditions; |
| • | availability of, and potential disputes with, independent contractors; |
| • | global warming, adverse weather conditions, natural disasters or other events (such as equipment malfunctions, explosions, fires or spills); |
| • | value of U.S. dollar relative to the currencies of other countries; and |
| • | terrorist acts. |
Past performance by our team, including investments and transactions in which they have participated and businesses with which they have been associated, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in us, and we may be unable to provide positive returns to shareholders.
Information regarding performance by our team is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance of our team is not a guarantee of the consummation of a successful business combination or our ability to successfully identify and execute a transaction. Certain of our officers, directors and advisors have had management and deal execution experience with special purpose acquisition corporations in the past. You should not rely on the historical record of members of our team or their respective affiliates as indicative of future performance of an investment in us or the returns we will, or are likely to, generate going forward. Additionally, in the course of their respective careers, members of our management team and Board have been involved in businesses and deals that were unsuccessful.
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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 candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive acquisition opportunity for our company. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors in our initial public offering than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in a business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue an acquisition outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained herein regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.
Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these criteria and guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See
“-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. We may seek acquisition opportunities with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with an early stage company, a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include investing in a business without a proven business model and with limited historical financial data, volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.
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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting 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 company from a financial point of view.
Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our Board, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.
We may issue additional shares of common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination, and may issue shares of common stock to redeem the warrants or issue shares of common stock or preferred stock under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.
one-to-one
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will authorize the issuance of up to 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 171,250,000 and 12,812,500 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount does not take into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of any outstanding warrants or the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination.
one-for-one
We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination (including pursuant to a specified future issuance). After the completion of our initial business combination, we may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common stock to redeem the warrants or shares of common or preferred stock under an employee incentive plan. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:
one-to-one
| • | may significantly dilute the equity interest of our investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of shares of Class A common stock on a greater than one-to-one |
| • | may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock; |
| • | could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; |
| • | may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; |
| • | may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants; and |
| • | may not result in adjustment to the exercise price of our warrants. |
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Resources could be wasted in researching acquisitions that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.
We anticipate that the investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments will require substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See
“-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. 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, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.
In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Our sponsor, officers and directors are not currently aware of any specific opportunities for us to complete our initial business combination with any entities with which they are affiliated, and there have been no preliminary discussions concerning a business combination with any such entity or entities. Although we will not be specifically focusing on, or targeting, any transaction with any affiliated entities, we would pursue such a transaction if we determined that such affiliated entity met our criteria for a business combination as set forth in the section of this annual report entitled “Business-Acquisition Criteria” and such transaction was approved by a majority of our disinterested directors. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, 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 officers, directors or existing holders, 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 stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest.
Since our initial stockholders will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed and our officers and directors may have differing personal and financial interests than you, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.
In November 2020, our founders acquired 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.0035 per share. Our sponsor purchased 4,671,875 founder shares, FL
Co-Investment
purchased 1,257,813 founder shares and Intrepid Financial Partners purchased 1,257,812 founder shares. Also in November 2020, our sponsor transferred 434,375 founder shares to our independent director nominees and certain individuals, including Gregory D. Patrinely, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, at their original purchase price. Simultaneously with such transfer, each of FL Co-Investment
and Intrepid Financial Partners transferred 13,125 founder shares to our sponsor, respectively, at their original purchase price. Prior to the initial investment in the company of $25,000 by our founders we had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after our initial public offering. 38
The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our initial stockholders purchased an aggregate of 7,750,000 private placement warrants, each exercisable for one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, for a purchase price of approximately $7,750,000, or $1.00 per whole warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete a business combination.
Our founders, directors and officers have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed business combination pursuant to a letter agreement that our founders, directors and officers have entered into with us and (B) pursuant to such letter agreement, our founders, officers and directors have agreed to waive (i) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and public shares held by them in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or basis, subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights, as described in more detail below; and (5) the founder shares are entitled to registration rights.
pre-initial
business combination activity and (iii) their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, 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 by March 1, 2023; (4) the founder shares will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial business combination, on a one-for-one
In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination. This risk may become more acute as the deadline for completing our initial business combination nears.
Since our initial stockholders paid only approximately $0.0035 per share for the founder shares, our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value.
In November 2020, our founders acquired 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000, or approximately $0.0035 per share. Our sponsor purchased 4,671,875 founder shares, FL
Co-Investment
purchased 1,257,813 founder shares and Intrepid Financial Partners purchased 1,257,812 founder shares. Also in November 2020, our sponsor transferred 434,375 founder shares to our independent directors and certain individuals, including Gregory D. Patrinely, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, at their original purchase price. Simultaneously with such transfer, each of FL Co-Investment
and Intrepid Financial Partners transferred 13,125 founder shares to our sponsor, respectively, at their original purchase price. Our officers and directors have a significant economic interest in our sponsor. As a result, the low acquisition cost of the founder shares creates an economic incentive whereby our officers and directors could potentially make a substantial profit even if we acquire a target business that subsequently declines in value and is unprofitable for public investors. We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete a business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
Although we currently have no commitments to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We 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: 39
| • | default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations; |
| • | acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant; |
| • | our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand; |
| • | our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding; |
| • | our inability to pay dividends on our common stock; |
| • | using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes; |
| • | limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate; |
| • | increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation; |
| • | limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and |
| • | other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt. |
We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of products or services. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operations and profitability.
Of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $278,137,500 will be available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to approximately $10,062,500 for the payment of the Marketing Fee).
We may complete our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to complete our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:
| • | solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset; or |
| • | dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services. |
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This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.
We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.
If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.
We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
In pursuing our acquisition strategy, we may seek to complete our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in a business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.
We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete a business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our founders, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.
In order to complete our initial business combination, we may seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or other governing instruments, including our warrant agreement, in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination but that our stockholders or warrant holders may not support.
In order to complete a business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and governing instruments, including their warrant agreement. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds, changed industry focus and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or other governing instruments or change our industry focus in order to complete our initial business combination.
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The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our
pre-business
combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account) may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support. Some other blank check companies have a provision in their charter that prohibits the amendment of certain of its provisions, including those which relate to a company’s
pre-business
combination activity, without approval by a certain percentage of the company’s stockholders. In those companies, amendment of these provisions requires approval by between 90% and 100% of the company’s public stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that any of its provisions (other than amendments relating to the election or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval by holders of a majority of at least 90% of the issued and outstanding shares of our common stock voting at a stockholder meeting) related to pre-business
combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or in our initial business combination. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock , will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that 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 stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our founders, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a letter agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or
pre-initial
business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of amounts released to us to pay taxes and expenses related to the administration of the trust), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, this letter agreement and, as a result, will not have the ability to pursue remedies against our founders, officers or directors for any breach of the letter agreement. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law. We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.
Although we believe that the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants will be sufficient to allow us to complete our initial business combination, because we have not yet selected any prospective target business we cannot ascertain the capital requirements for any particular transaction. If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants prove to be insufficient, either because of the size of our initial business combination, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination, we may be required to seek additional financing or to
42
abandon the proposed business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.00 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account (and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.00 per share on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.00 per share on the redemption of their shares. See
“-If
third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share
redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.00 per share” and other risk factors in this section. Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.
Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our Board, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our 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 meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” Board, only a minority of the Board will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.
Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination.
We have issued warrants to purchase 14,375,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,750,000 shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own 7,187,500 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a basis, subject to adjustment as set forth herein. In addition, if our sponsor, an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors make any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.
one-for-one
To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to complete a business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive acquisition vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to complete a business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.
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The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by our initial stockholders or their respective permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us for cash, (ii) pursuant to a letter agreement with us, subject to certain exceptions, our initial stockholders have agreed not to transfer, assign or sell any private placement warrant (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the private placement warrants) until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) the private placement warrants may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.
We may seek business combination opportunities with a high degree of complexity that require significant operational improvements, which could delay or prevent us from achieving our desired results
.
We may seek business combination opportunities with large, highly complex companies that we believe would benefit from operational improvements. While we intend to implement such improvements, to the extent that our efforts are delayed or we are unable to achieve the desired improvements, the business combination may not be as successful as we anticipate.
To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a large complex business or entity with a complex operating structure, we may also be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine, which could delay or prevent us from implementing our strategy. Although our management team will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business and its operations, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors until we complete our business combination. If we are not able to achieve our desired operational improvements, or the improvements take longer to implement than anticipated, we may not achieve the gains that we anticipate. Furthermore, some of these risks and complexities may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks and complexities will adversely impact a target business. Such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a smaller, less complex organization.
A provision of our warrant agreement may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
Unlike many blank check companies, if (i) we issue additional shares of common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at a Newly Issued Price of less than $9.20 per share of common stock and (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 completion 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, 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, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price. This may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination with a target business.
Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.
The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on a business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include target historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (“IFRS”), depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (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 financial statements in time for us to disclose such financial statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023.
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Compliance obligations under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination, require substantial financial and management resources, and increase the time and costs of completing an acquisition.
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form
10-K
for the year ending December 31, 2022. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our 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 may engage one or more of our underwriters from our initial public offering or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our initial public offering, which may include acting as M&A advisor in connection with an initial business combination or as placement agent in connection with a related financing transaction. Our underwriters from our initial public offering are entitled to receive the Marketing Fee that will be released from the trust account only upon a completion of an initial business combination. These financial incentives may cause such underwriters to have potential conflicts of interest in rendering any such 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 underwriters or one of their respective affiliates to provide additional services to us after our initial public offering, including, for example, identifying potential targets, providing M&A advisory services, acting as a placement agent in a private offering or arranging debt financing transactions. We may pay such underwriter or its affiliate 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 a Marketing Fee that are 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 providing any such additional services to us, including potential conflicts of interest in connection with the sourcing and consummation of an initial business combination.
As the number of SPACs 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 SPACs that have been formed has increased substantially. Many potential targets for SPACs have already entered into an initial business combination, and there are still many SPACs seeking targets for their initial business combination, as well as many such companies currently in registration with the SEC. 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 SPACs 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.
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Risks Relating to the Post-Business Combination Company
Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.
Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or
write-off
assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash
items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing
debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining post-combination debt financing. Accordingly, any stockholder or warrant holder who chooses to remain a stockholder or warrant holder, respectively, following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders and warrant holders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value. Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may structure a business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the issued and outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires an interest in the target sufficient for the post-transaction company not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the business combination transaction. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.
We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may complete our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.
When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.
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The officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an acquisition candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an acquisition candidate’s management team will remain associated with the acquisition candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an acquisition candidate will not wish to remain in place.
The exercise price for the public warrants is higher than in many similar blank check company offerings in the past, and, accordingly, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.
The exercise price of the public warrants is higher than is typical in many similar blank check companies in the past. Historically, the exercise price of a warrant was generally a fraction of the purchase price of the units in the initial public offering. The exercise price for our public warrants is $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as provided herein. As a result, the warrants are more likely to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis and potentially causing such warrants to expire worthless.
We are not registering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws at this time. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we will use our reasonable best efforts to file, and within 60 business days following our initial business combination to have declared effective, a registration statement under the Securities Act covering such shares and maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order.
If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, in which case, the number of shares of Class A common stock that you will receive upon cashless exercise will be based on a formula subject to a maximum amount of shares equal to 0.361 shares of Class A common stock 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 common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will be required to use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws 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 shares of Class A common stock included in the units. There may be a circumstance where an exemption from registration exists for holders of our private placement warrants to exercise their warrants while a corresponding exemption does not exist for holders of the public warrants included as part of units sold in our initial public offering. In such an instance, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees (which may include our directors and executive officers) would be able to exercise their warrants and sell the shares of Class A common stock underlying their
47
warrants while holders of our public warrants would not be able to exercise their warrants and sell the underlying shares of Class A common stock. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying shares of Class A common stock for sale under all applicable state securities laws. As a result, we may redeem the warrants as set forth above even if the holders are otherwise unable to exercise their warrants.
Our letter agreement with our founders, officers and directors and registration rights agreement may be amended, and provisions therein may be waived, without stockholder approval.
Our letter agreement with our founders, officers and directors contains provisions relating to transfer restrictions of our founder shares and private placement warrants, indemnification of the trust account, waiver of redemption rights and participation in liquidating distributions from the trust account. The letter agreement and the registration rights agreement may be amended, and provisions therein may be waived, without stockholder approval. While we do not expect our Board to approve any amendment to or waiver of the letter agreement or registration rights agreement prior to our initial business combination, it may be possible that our Board, in exercising its business judgment and subject to its fiduciary duties, chooses to approve one or more amendments to or waivers of such agreements. Any such amendments or waivers would not require approval from our stockholders and may have an adverse effect on the value of an investment in our securities.
We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.
Our warrants will be issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity, or curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem shall not adversely affect the interest of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants; provided that if an amendment adversely affects the private placement warrants in a different manner than the public warrants or vice versa, then the vote or written consent of the registered holders of 65% of the public warrants and 65% of the private placement warrants, voting as separate classes, shall be required. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.
Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.
Our warrant agreement provides that, subject to applicable law, (i) any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement, including under the Securities Act, will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and (ii) that we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction shall be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. We will waive any objection to such exclusive jurisdiction and that such courts represent an inconvenient forum.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, these provisions of the warrant agreement will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our warrants shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to the forum provisions
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in our warrant agreement. If any action, the subject matter of which is within the scope the forum provisions of the warrant agreement, is filed in a court other than a court of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (a “foreign action”) in the name of any holder of our warrants, such holder shall be deemed to have consented to: (x) the personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in the State of New York in connection with any action brought in any such court to enforce the forum provisions (an “enforcement action”), and (y) having service of process made upon such warrant holder in any such enforcement action by service upon such warrant holder’s counsel in the foreign action as agent for such warrant holder.
This provision may limit a warrant holder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with our company, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find this provision of our warrant agreement inapplicable or unenforceable with respect to one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and result in a diversion of the time and resources of our management and our Board.
choice-of-forum
We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.
We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants for cash at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a in which case you would lose any potential embedded value from a subsequent increase in the value of the Class A common stock had your warrants remained outstanding.
30-trading
day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders 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) and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may exercise our redemption right even if we are unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. In addition, we may redeem your warrants after they become exercisable for a number of shares of Class A common stock determined based on the redemption date and the fair market value of our Class A common stock. Any such redemption may have similar consequences to a cash redemption described above. In addition, such redemption may occur at a time when the warrants are “out-of-the-money,”
Because each unit contains
one-half
of one redeemable warrant and only a whole warrant may be exercised, the units may be worth less than units of other blank check companies. Each unit contains
one-half
of one redeemable warrant. Because, pursuant to the warrant agreement, the warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares, only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time. This is different from other offerings similar to ours whose units include one share of common stock and one redeemable warrant to purchase one whole share. We have established the components of the units in this way in order to reduce the dilutive effect of the warrants upon completion of a business combination since the warrants will be exercisable in the aggregate for one-half
of the number of shares compared to units that each contain a warrant to purchase one whole share, thus making us, we believe, a more attractive merger partner for target businesses. Nevertheless, this unit structure may cause our units to be worth less than if they included a warrant to purchase one whole share. Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to pay in the future for our Class A common stock and could entrench management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. These provisions include a staggered Board and the ability of the Board to designate the terms of and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
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We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will designate certain courts as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (“Court of Chancery”) will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or stockholders to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers, or employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits (a) brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to any claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction; (b) which the Court of Chancery determines that it does not have personal jurisdiction over an indispensable party, (c) for which exclusive jurisdiction is vested in a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (d) the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in shares of our common stock will be deemed to have notice of, and consented to, the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation described in the preceding sentence. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. We believe these provisions benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law by chancellors particularly experienced in resolving corporate disputes and in the application of the Securities Act by federal judges, as applicable, efficient administration of cases on a more expedited schedule relative to other forums and protection against the burdens of multi-forum litigation. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and such persons. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our certificate of incorporation inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, 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 adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Furthermore, stockholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and rules and regulations thereunder.
Risks Relating to Acquiring and Operating a Business in Foreign Countries
If we complete our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.
If we complete our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:
| • | higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets; |
| • | rules and regulations regarding currency redemption; |
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| • | complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals; |
| • | laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected; |
| • | tariffs and trade barriers; |
| • | regulations related to customs and import/export matters; |
| • | longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable; |
| • | changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 outbreak; |
| • | 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, price instability and interest rate fluctuations; |
| • | cultural and language differences; |
| • | employment regulations; |
| • | crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars; |
| • | deterioration of political relations with the United States; and |
| • | government appropriations of assets. |
We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.
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. Risks Relating to our Management Team
We are dependent upon our 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 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 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 officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or officers could have a detrimental effect on us. 51
Members of our management team may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our 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.
Members of our management team may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the business combination. Such negotiations could take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any members of our management team will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any members of our management team will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any members of our management team will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.
Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be totally dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team, some of whom may not join us following our initial business combination. The loss of such people could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our ability to successfully complete our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of members of our management team. The role of members of our management team in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some members of our management team may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we engage after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements.
In addition, the officers and directors of an acquisition candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of a 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. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.
Our officers and directors may allocate their time to other businesses, thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
Our officers and directors are not required to, and will not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for a business combination and their other businesses. Each of our officers is engaged in several other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.
52
Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.
Following the completion of our initial public offering and until we consummate our initial business combination, we intend to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business.
Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities in the future to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties. Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue.
Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.
We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact (subject to certain approvals and consents) we may enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.
General Risk Factors
The SEC issued guidance on the application of warrant accounting guidance which required that our warrants be accounted for as liabilities rather than as equity and such requirement resulted in a restatement of our previously issued financial statements.
On April 12, 2021, the staff of the SEC issued a public statement entitled “Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)” (the “Statement”). In the Statement, 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. More specifically, the Statement focused on warrants that have certain settlement terms and provisions related to certain tender offers or warrants that do not meet the criteria to be considered indexed to an entity’s own stock, which terms are similar to those contained in the warrant agreement governing our warrants. Since issuance, our warrants were accounted for as equity within our balance sheet, and after discussion and evaluation, including with our independent auditors, we have concluded that our warrants should be presented as liabilities with subsequent fair value remeasurement. Therefore, we conducted a valuation of our warrants and restated our previously issued financial statements, which resulted in unanticipated costs and diversion of management resources.
Our management and our audit committee also concluded that it was appropriate to restate our previously issued financial statements for the affected periods. We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. This material weakness could continue to adversely affect our ability to report our results of operations and financial condition accurately and in a timely manner. As part of the restatement, we identified a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting relating to accounting for complex financial instruments.
Although we have now completed these restatements, we cannot guarantee that we will have no further inquiries from the SEC or NYSE regarding our restated financial statements or matters relating thereto.
53
Any future inquiries from the SEC or NYSE as a result of the restatement of our historical financial statements will, regardless of the outcome, likely consume a significant amount of our resources in addition to those resources already consumed in connection with the restatement itself.
Our warrants are accounted for as derivative liabilities and are recorded at fair value with changes in fair value for each period reported in earnings, which may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock or may make it more difficult for us to consummate an initial business combination.
We issued 14,375,000 public warrants and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we issued in a private placement 7,750,000 private placement warrants. As a result of the Statement, we evaluated the accounting treatment of our 14,375,000 public warrants and 7,750,000 private placement warrants and determined that the warrants should be recorded as derivative liabilities measured at fair value, with changes in fair value each period reported in earnings. At each reporting period (i) the accounting treatment of the warrants will be
re-evaluated
for proper accounting treatment as a liability or equity and (ii) 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 share price of our common stock represents the primary underlying variable that impacts the value of the liability related to the warrants, which are accounted for as derivative instruments. Additional factors that impact the value of the warrants as derivative instruments include the volatility of our stock price, discount rates and stated interest rates. As a result, our financial statements and results of operations will fluctuate quarterly, based on various factors, many of which are outside of our control, such as the share price of our common stock. In addition, we may change the underlying assumptions used in our valuation model, which could result in significant fluctuations in our results of operations. If our stock price is volatile, we expect that we will 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 common stock. As a result, included on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 contained elsewhere in this annual report are derivative liabilities related to embedded features contained within our public warrants and private placement warrants. Accounting Standards
Codification 815-40,
“Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts on an Entity’s Own Equity”, provides for the remeasurement of the fair value of such derivatives at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash
gain or loss related to the change in the fair value being recognized in earnings in the statement of operations. As a result of the recurring fair value measurement, our financial statements and results of operations may fluctuate quarterly, based on factors, that are outside of our control. Due to the recurring fair value measurement, we expect that we will recognize non-cash
gains or losses on our warrants each reporting period and that the amount of such gains or losses could be material. We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If we are unable to develop and maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results in a timely manner, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and materially and adversely affect our business and operating results.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented, or detected and corrected on a timely basis. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and prevent fraud.
We identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting related to the accounting for the warrants we issued in connection with our initial public offering. As a result of this material weakness, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021. This material weakness resulted in a material misstatement of our warrant liabilities, change in fair value of warrant liabilities and related financial disclosures for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to the Company’s accounting treatment of its public and private placement warrants, see Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Report.
We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting of complex financial instruments related to the Company’s classification of redeemable shares of Class A common stock. As a result of this material weakness, our management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective as of December 31, 2021. Historically, a portion of the Class A common stock was classified as permanent equity. Following the Company’s re-evaluation of the accounting classification of the Class A common stock, the Company’s management has determined that the Class A common stock requires classification as temporary equity. For a discussion of management’s consideration of the material weakness identified related to the Company’s classification of the Class A common stock, see Part II, Item 9A: Controls and Procedures included in this Report.
54
If we identify any new material weaknesses in the future, any such newly identified material weakness could limit our ability to prevent or detect a misstatement of our accounts or disclosures that could result in a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements. In such case, we may be unable to maintain compliance with securities law requirements regarding timely filing of periodic reports in addition to applicable stock exchange listing requirements, investors may lose confidence in our financial reporting and our stock price may decline as a result. We cannot assure you that the measures we have taken to date, or any measures we may take in the future, will be sufficient to avoid potential future material weaknesses. To respond to these material weaknesses, we have devoted, and plan to continue to devote, significant effort and resources to the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to identify and appropriately apply applicable accounting requirements, we plan to enhance these processes to better evaluate our research and understanding of the nuances of the complex accounting standards that apply to our financial statements. Our plans at this time include providing enhanced access to accounting literature, research materials and documents and increased communication among our personnel and third-party professionals with whom we consult regarding complex accounting applications. The elements of our remediation plan can only be accomplished over time, and we can offer no assurance that these initiatives will ultimately have the intended effects.
Any failure to maintain such internal control could adversely impact our ability to report our financial position and results from operations on a timely and accurate basis. If our financial statements are not accurate, investors may not have a complete understanding of our operations. Likewise, if our financial statements are not filed on a timely basis, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the stock exchange on which our common stock is listed, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. In either case, this could in result a material adverse effect on our business. Failure to timely file will cause us to be ineligible to utilize short form registration statements on Form
S-3,
which may impair our ability to obtain capital in a timely fashion to execute our business strategies or issue shares to effect an acquisition. Ineffective internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our stock. We can give no assurance that the measures we have taken and plan to take in the future will remediate the material weaknesses identified or that any additional material weaknesses or restatements of financial results will not arise in the future due to a failure to implement and maintain adequate internal control over financial reporting or circumvention of these controls. In addition, even if we are successful in strengthening our controls and procedures, in the future those controls and procedures may not be adequate to prevent or identify irregularities or errors or to facilitate the fair presentation of our financial statements.
The restatement of our March 1, 2021, March 30, 2021 and June 30, 2021 financial statements has subjected us to additional risks and uncertainties, including increased professional costs and the increased possibility of legal proceedings.
As a result of the restatement of our financial statements, we have become subject to additional risks and uncertainties, including, among others, increased professional fees and expenses and time commitment that may be required to address matters related to the restatements, and scrutiny of the SEC and other regulatory bodies which could cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and could subject us to civil or criminal penalties or shareholder litigation. We could face monetary judgments, penalties or other sanctions that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could cause its stock price to decline.
We may face litigation and other risks as a result of the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting.
As a result of the material weakness described above, the change in accounting for the warrants, the restatement for the change in classification of redeemable common stock and other matters raised or that may in the future be raised by the SEC, we face potential for litigation or other disputes that may include, among others, claims invoking the federal and state securities laws, contractual claims or other claims arising from the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting and the preparation of our financial statements. As of the date of this annual report, we have no knowledge of any such litigation or dispute. However, we can provide no assurance that such litigation or dispute will not arise in the future. Any such litigation or dispute, whether successful or not, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition or our ability to complete a business combination.
55
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 stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by
non-affiliates
exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile. Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to
non-emerging
growth companies but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected to irrevocably 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 will adopt the new or revised standard at the time public companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another emerging growth company that has not 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 any fiscal year for so long as either (1) the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates
did not exceed $250 million as of the prior June 30, or (2) our annual revenues did not exceed $100 million during such completed fiscal year and the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates
did not exceed $700 million as of the prior June 30. 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.
56
Members of our management team and our Board and their respective affiliated companies have been, and may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business.
Members of our management team and our Board have been involved in a wide variety of businesses. Such involvement has, and may lead to, media coverage and public awareness. As a result of such involvement, members of our management team and our Board and their respective affiliated companies have been, and may from time to time be, involved in legal proceedings or governmental investigations unrelated to our business. Any such proceedings or investigations may be detrimental to our reputation and could negatively affect our ability to identify and complete an initial business combination and may have an adverse effect on the price of our securities.
An investment in us may result in uncertain or adverse United States federal income tax consequences.
An investment in us may result in uncertain U.S. federal income tax consequences. For instance, because there are no authorities that directly address instruments similar to the units we issued in our initial public offering, the allocation an investor makes with respect to the purchase price of a unit between the share of Class A common stock and the
one-half
of one redeemable warrant to purchase Class A common stock included in each unit could be challenged by the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) or the courts. Furthermore, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of a cashless exercise of a warrant included in the units is unclear under current law. Finally, it is unclear whether the redemption rights with respect to our shares of Class A common stock suspend the running of a U.S. Holder’s holding period for purposes of determining whether any gain or loss realized by such holder on the sale or exchange of Class A common stock is long-term capital gain or loss and for determining whether any dividend we pay would be considered “qualified dividend income” for U.S. federal income tax purposes Prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to these and other tax consequences when purchasing, holding or disposing of our securities. We would be subject to a second level of U.S. federal income tax on a portion of our income if we are determined to be a personal holding company (a “PHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
A U.S. corporation generally will be classified as a PHC for U.S. federal income tax purposes in a given taxable year if (i) at any time during the last half of such taxable year, five or fewer individuals (without regard to their citizenship or residency and including as individuals for this purpose certain entities such as certain tax
tax-exempt
organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts) own or are deemed to own (pursuant to certain constructive ownership rules) more than 50% of the stock of the corporation by value and (ii) at least 60% of the corporation’s adjusted ordinary gross income, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes, for such taxable year consists of PHC income (which includes, among other things, dividends, interest, certain royalties, annuities and, under certain circumstances, rents). Depending on the date and size of our initial business combination, it is possible that at least 60% of our adjusted ordinary gross income may consist of PHC income as discussed above. In addition, depending on the concentration of our stock in the hands of individuals, including the members of our sponsor and certain
tax-exempt
organizations, pension funds and charitable trusts, it is possible that more than 50% of our stock may be owned or deemed owned (pursuant to the constructive ownership rules) by such persons during the last half of a taxable year. Thus, no assurance can be given that we will not become a PHC in the future. If we are or were to become a PHC in a given taxable year, we would be subject to an additional PHC tax, currently 20%, on our undistributed PHC income, which generally includes our taxable income, subject to certain adjustments. Non-U.S.
Holders may be subject to U.S. federal income tax if we are considered a United States real property holding corporation. A
Non-U.S.
Holder (as defined below) of our Class A common stock may be subject to U.S. federal income and/or withholding tax in the event we are considered a “United States real property holding corporation” (“USRPHC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In that event, Non-U.S.
Holders of our Class A common stock could be subject to U.S. federal income or withholding tax, or both, in respect of certain distributions on, and payments in connection with a sale, exchange, redemption, repurchase or other disposition of, our Class A common stock. Certain Non-U.S.
Holders may be eligible for an exemption if they do not exceed certain ownership levels. Non-U.S.
Holders are urged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of our Class A common stock. 57
Item 1B. |
Unresolved Staff Comments |
Not applicable.
Item 2. |
Properties |
We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. Our executive office is located at 700 Milam Street, Suite 3300, Houston, Texas 77002. We consider our current office space adequate for our current operations.
Item 3. |
Legal Proceedings |
To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending or contemplated against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.
Item 4. |
Mine Safety Disclosures |
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. |
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities Market Information |
Our units trade on the NYSE under the symbol “FLME.U.” The common stock and warrants trade on the NYSE under the symbols “FLME” and “FLME.WS,” respectively.
Holders
On March 28, 2022, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock, one holder of record of our public warrants, eight holders of record of our Class B common stock and eight holders of record of our private placement warrants.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans.
None.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Use of Proceeds from Registered Offerings.
On March 1, 2021 we sold 7,750,000 private placement warrants to our sponsor at $1.00 per warrant, generating gross proceeds of $7,750,000. Each private placement warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share.
On March 1, 2021 we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units at $10.00 per unit, including 3,875,000 units sold pursuant to the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional units to cover over-allotments. Cowen & Company, LLC (“Cowen”) and Intrepid Partners, LLC (“Intrepid’) served as the joint book-running managers for the offering. The securities sold in the initial public offering were registered under the Securities Act on a registration statement on Form
S-1
(No. 333-252805)
that became effective on February 24, 2021. 58
We paid a total of $5,750,000 in underwriting discounts and commissions and $857,751 for other costs and expenses related to the initial public offering. The underwriters agreed to defer an additional $10,062,250 in underwriting discounts and commissions, payable upon consummation of our initial business combination, pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement, by and among the Company, Cowen and Intrepid. After deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions (excluding the deferred portion of $10,062,250 in underwriting discounts and commissions, which will be released from the trust account upon consummation of initial business combination, if consummated) and incurred offering costs, the total net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants was $287,835,000, of which $287,500,000 (or $10.00 per unit sold in the initial public offering) was placed in the trust account. We reimbursed our sponsor and certain officers and directors to cover expenses related to the initial public offering. Other than as described above, no payments were made by us to directors, officers or persons owning ten percent or more of our common stock or to their associates, or to our affiliates.
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 |
References to “we”, “us”, “our” or the “Company” are to Flame Acquisition Corp., except where the context requires otherwise. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form
10-K.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about us that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “should,” “could,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. Such statements include, but are not limited to, possible business combinations and the financing thereof, and related matters, as well as all other statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-K.
Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, those described in our other Securities and Exchange Commission SEC filings. Overview
We are a blank check company incorporated in Delaware on October 16, 2020 for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses that we have not yet identified. We are an emerging growth company and, as such, we are subject to all of the risks associated with emerging growth companies. Our sponsor is Flame Acquisition Sponsor LLC, a Delaware limited liability and an affiliate of certain of our officers and directors.
Our registration statement for our initial public offering was declared effective on February 24, 2021. On March 1, 2021, we consummated our initial public offering of 28,750,000 units, which included 3,875,000 units issued pursuant to the full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option, at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $287.5 million, and incurring offering costs of approximately $16.7 million, inclusive of $10,062,500 in deferred underwriting commissions pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC and Intrepid Partners, LLC (the “Business Combination Marketing Agreement”).
59
Simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we consummated the private placement of 7,750,000 warrants to our initial stockholders, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds to us of $7.75 million.
Upon the closing of our initial public offering and the private placement, $287.5 million of the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in our initial public offering and the sale of private placement warrants in the private placement were placed in a trust account (the “Trust Account”) located in the United States at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company acting as trustee, and invested only in U.S. “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 185 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule
2a-7
promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations, as determined by us, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account as described below. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the trust account that may be released to us to pay our taxes, if any, the funds held in the trust account will not be released until the earliest to occur of: (a) the completion of our initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or 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 stockholders’ rights or pre-initial
business combination activity and (c) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, subject to applicable law. Based on current interest rates, we expect that interest income earned on the trust account (if any) will be sufficient to pay our income and franchise taxes. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the Public Shares, at a
per-share
price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account, including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (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 Stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the remaining stockholders and the board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Results of Operations
Our entire activity since inception through December 31, 2021 was related to our formation, the preparation for our initial public offering, and since the closing of our initial public offering, the search for a target for its initial business combination. We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. We will not generate any operating revenues until after completion of our initial business combination. We will generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses. For the period from October 16, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $1,657, which consisted of general and administrative expenses.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we had a net income of approximately $4.3 million, which consisted of approximately $1.7 million in general and administrative expenses, approximately $0.3 million of financing costs, approximately $18,000 of initial fair value adjustment on promissory note, approximately $84,000 of change in fair value of promissory note, and approximately $6.2 million of change in fair value of derivative warrant liabilities, partly offset by approximately $16,000 in gain on investments held in Trust Account. The $0.3 million in financing costs represents offering costs allocated to warrant liabilities and expensed at the time of the initial public offering.
60
We classify the warrants issued in connection with our initial public offering and Private Placement as liabilities at their fair value and adjust the warrant instruments to fair value at each reporting period. These liabilities are subject to
re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the change in fair value of warrants was an increase of approximately $6.2 million. Going Concern
As of December 31, 2021, we had $0.3 million in cash and working capital deficit of approximately $0.4 million. We are also subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023. Further, we expect to incur significant costs in pursuit of our acquisition plans. Management’s plans to address this need for capital are discussed in Note 1 to our financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our plans to raise capital and to consummate our initial business combination by March 1, 2023 may not be successful. In addition, management is currently evaluating the continuing impact of the
COVID-19
pandemic on the industry and its effect on our financial position, results of our operations and/or search for a target company. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements contained elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
do not include any adjustments that might result from our inability to continue as a going concern. Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
In November 2020, our founders acquired 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Our sponsor purchased 4,671,875 founder shares, FL
Co-Investment
purchased 1,257,813 founder shares and Intrepid Financial Partners purchased 1,257,812 founder shares. Also in November 2020, our sponsor transferred 434,375 founder shares to our independent director nominees and certain individuals, including Gregory D. Patrinely, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, at their original purchase price. Simultaneously with such transfer, each of FL Co-Investment
and Intrepid Financial Partners transferred 13,125 founder shares to our sponsor, respectively, at their original purchase price. The initial stockholders agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of the Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of:
(a) one year after the completion of our initial business combination or (b) subsequent to our initial business combination, (x) if the last reported sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) for any 20 trading days within any
30-trading
day period commencing at least 150 days after our initial business combination, or (y) the date on which we complete a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property. Any permitted transferees would be subject to the same restrictions and other agreements of our initial stockholders with respect to any founder shares. Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we consummated the private placement of 7,750,000 private placement warrants to our initial stockholders, each exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share, at a price of $1.00 per private placement warrant, generating gross proceeds to us of $7.75 million.
Each private placement warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the private placement warrants to the initial stockholders was added to the proceeds from our initial public offering held in the Trust Account. If we do not complete a business combination by March 1, 2023, the private placement warrants will expire worthless. Except as set forth below, the private placement warrants will be
non-redeemable
for cash and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the initial stockholders or their permitted transferees. 61
The purchasers of the private placement warrants agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their private placement warrants (except to permitted transferees) until 30 days after the completion of the initial business combination.
Related Party Loans
On November 25, 2020, our founders agreed to loan us an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to our initial public offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Initial Promissory Note”). This loan was
non-interest
bearing and payable upon the completion of our initial public offering. We borrowed approximately $75,000 under the Initial Promissory Note and repaid the Initial Promissory Note to our founders in full as of March 31, 2021. On March 1, 2021, we issued an unsecured promissory note as a working capital loan to our sponsor in the principal amount of $365,000 to cover additional expenses related to our initial public offering (the “First Working Capital Loan”). This loan was non-interest
bearing and is payable upon the completion of the initial business combination. Our sponsor assigned approximately $145,000 of the First Working Capital Loan to our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, Gregory Patrinely, approximately $110,000 of the First Working Capital Loan to our Vice President, Anthony Duenner, and approximately $110,000 of the First Working Capital Loan to our Vice President, Caldwell Flores. As of December 31, 2021, we have borrowed approximately $365,000 under the First Working Capital Loan. On December 27, 2021, we issued an unsecured promissory note as a working capital loan to our sponsor in the principal amount of $800,000 to cover additional expenses related to our search for the initial business combination (the “Second Working Capital Loan”). This loan was non-interest
bearing and payable upon the completion of the initial business combination. As of December 31, 2021, we have borrowed approximately $800,000 under the Second Working Capital Loan. In March 2022, we issued an unsecured promissory note as a working capital loan to our sponsor in the principal amount of $335,000 to cover additional expenses related to our search for the initial business combination. This loan is non-interest bearing and payable upon the completion of the initial business combination, and has been fully drawn down. In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender (the “Working Capital Loans”). Such warrants are identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. Each of the First Working Capital Loan and Second Working Capital Loan are Working Capital Loans and may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of our sponsor. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. As of December 31, 2021, we had drawn down approximately $1,165,000 of such loans.
Commitments and Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of our founder shares, private placement warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the founder shares), are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. These holders will be entitled to certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not be required to effect or permit any registration or cause any registration statement to become effective until termination of the applicable
lock-up
period. We will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements. Underwriting Agreement
The underwriters were entitled to an underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $5.75 million in the aggregate, paid upon the closing of our initial public offering. An additional fee of $0.35 per Unit, or approximately $10.1 million in the aggregate will be payable to the underwriters pursuant to the Business Combination Marketing Agreement. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event that we complete a business combination, subject to the terms of the underwriting agreement.
62
Critical Accounting Estimates
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to fair value of financial instruments and accrued expenses. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We have identified the following as our critical accounting policies:
Investments Held in the Trust Account
Our portfolio of investments held in the Trust Account is comprised of U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185 days or less, or investments in money market funds that invest in U.S. government securities, or a combination thereof. The investments held in the Trust Account are classified as trading securities. Trading securities are presented on the balance sheets at fair value at the end of each reporting period. Gains and losses resulting from the change in fair value of these securities is included in income from investments held in Trust Account in the accompanying statement of operations. The estimated fair values of investments held in the Trust Account are determined using available market information.
Class A Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
We account for our Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Shares of Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as liability instruments and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable shares of Class A common stock (including shares of Class A common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within our control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, shares of Class A common stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. Our shares of Class A common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of our control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2021, 28,750,000 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption were presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the accompanying balance sheet.
Under ASC we have elected to recognize changes in the redemption value immediately as they occur and adjust the carrying value of the security to equal the redemption value at the end of the reporting period. This method would view the end of the reporting period as if it were also the redemption date of the security. Effective with the closing of our initial public offering, we recognized the accretion from initial book value to redemption amount, which, resulted in charges against additional
480-10-S99,
paid-in
capital (to the extent available) and accumulated deficit. Net Income (Loss) Per Share of Common Stock
We comply with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share.” We have two classes of shares, which are referred to as Class A common stock and Class B common stock. Income and losses are shared pro rata between the two classes of shares.
63
Net income (loss) per common share is calculated by dividing the net income (loss) by the weighted average shares of common stock outstanding for the respective period. We have not considered the effect of the warrants sold in our initial public offering and Private Placement to purchase an aggregate of 22,125,000 shares of our Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted loss per share, since they are not yet exercisable. Accretion associated with the redeemable Class A common stock is excluded from earnings per share as the redemption value approximates fair value.
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
We do not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. We evaluate all of our financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC
815-15.
The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity, is re-assessed
at the end of each reporting period. We issued 14,375,000 common stock warrants to investors in our initial public offering and issued 7,750,000 private placement warrants. All of our outstanding warrants are recognized as derivative liabilities in accordance with ASC
815-40.
Accordingly, we recognize the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjust the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The difference between the fair market value of the private placement warrants and the initial purchase consideration thereof is recorded as compensation expense. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in our statement of operations. The fair value of the Public Warrants and Private Warrants were initially and subsequently measured at fair value using a Monte-Carlo simulation model. Beginning as of December 31, 2021, the fair value of Public Warrants have been measured based on the listed market price of such Public Warrants. The private placement warrants are measured by reference to the listed trading price of the Public Warrants at December 31, 2021. Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2020, the FASB issued 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, and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently reviewing what impact, if any, adoption will have on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Our management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
JOBS Act
The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for qualifying public companies. We qualify as an “emerging growth company” and under the JOBS Act are 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, the financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on the other reduced reporting requirements provided by the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions set forth in the JOBS Act, if, as an “emerging growth company,” we choose to rely on such exemptions we may not be required to, among other things, (i) provide an auditor’s attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404, (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 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board 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 initial public offering or until we are no longer an “emerging growth company,” whichever is earlier. 64
Item 7A. |
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk |
The net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants held in the trust account are invested in 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.
Item 8. |
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
Reference is made to Pages
F-1
through F-21
comprising a portion 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 and procedures are controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in our reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in Company reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
As required by Rules
13a-15
and 15d-15
under the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2021. Based upon their evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2021, our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15
(e) and 15d-15
(e) under the Exchange Act) were not effective as of December 31, 2021, due to the material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting over the accounting for complex financial instruments, which resulted in the restatement of the Company’s financial statements. In light of this, we performed additional analysis as deemed necessary to ensure that our financial statements were prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Accordingly, management believes that the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
present fairly in all material respects our financial position, results of operations and cash flows for the period presented. Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
This Annual Report on Form
10-K
does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by rules of the SEC for newly public companies. Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules
13a-15(f)
and 15d-15(f)
of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting, as the circumstances that led to the restatement of our financial statements described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K
continue to be assessed. 65
Our internal control over financial reporting did not result in the proper classification of our warrants. Since issuance on March 1, 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. In addition, our management has concluded that our internal control resulted in the misclassification of Class A common stock as permanent equity instead of temporary equity and changes to the Company’s net income (loss) per share calculations.
The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer performed additional accounting and financial analyses and other post-closing procedures including consulting with subject matter experts related to the accounting for certain complex features of the Class A common stock and warrants. The Company’s management has expended, and will continue to expend, a substantial amount of effort and resources for the remediation and improvement of our internal control over financial reporting. While we have processes to properly identify and evaluate the appropriate accounting technical pronouncements and other literature for all significant or unusual transactions, we have expanded and will continue to improve these processes to ensure that the nuances of such transactions are effectively evaluated in the context of the increasingly complex accounting standards.
Item 9B. |
Other Information |
None.
Item 9C. |
Disclosures Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections |
Not applicable.
PART III
Item 10. |
Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance |
Directors |
and Executive Officers |
As of the date of this report, our directors and officers are as follows:
| Name |
Age |
Position | ||
| James C. Flores |
62 | Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President | ||
| Gregory D. Patrinely |
36 | Chief Financial Officer and Secretary | ||
| Michael E. Dillard |
63 | Director | ||
| Gregory P. Pipkin |
62 | Director | ||
| Christopher B. Sarofim |
58 | Director |
James C. Flores.
co-founder
and has served as our President, Chief Executive officer and Chairman of our board of directors since our inception. From May 2017 until February 2021, Mr. Flores served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Sable Permian Resources, which engaged in the acquisition, consolidation and optimization of oil and gas upstream opportunities. Sable Permian Resources filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy on June 25, 2020 and emerged from bankruptcy on February 1, 2021. Prior to Sable Permian Resources, Mr. Flores served as Vice Chairman of Freeport-McMoRan, Inc. and CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Inc., the world’s largest publicly traded copper producer, from June 2013 until April 2016. From 2001 until 2013, Mr. Flores was the Chairman, CEO and President of Plains Exploration & Production Company and Chairman and CEO of Plains Resources Inc. From 1994 until 2000, Mr. Flores was also the Chairman and CEO of Flores & Rucks, Inc. which, after several acquisitions, was later renamed Ocean Energy Inc. prior to its sale to Devon Energy Corporation. Since 1982, Mr. Flores has had an extensive career in the oil and gas industry in the roles of Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of four public and one private oil & gas exploration and production companies. He is a member of the National Petroleum Council, serves as Trustee for the Baylor College of Medicine and is a Director for the Waterfowl Research Foundation. He was recognized as Executive of the Year in 2004 in Oil and Gas Investor magazine. Mr. Flores received a B.S. degree in corporate finance and petroleum land management from Louisiana State University. We believe Mr. Flores is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his more than 35 years in the oil and gas industry, including as Chief Executive Officer of several public companies. 66
Gregory D. Patrinely.
Michael E. Dillard.
low-income
families in the Houston area. Mr. Dillard received a B.A. degree in Mathematics from Southern Methodist University in 1979 (summa cum laude) and a Juris Doctor degree from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 1982 (cum laude). We believe Mr. Dillard is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions and corporate governance and related matters. Gregory P. Pipkin.
co-head
and Managing Director of the Houston office of the Barclays Natural Resources Group for Barclays PLC, from September 2008 to November 2016. Mr. Pipkin was a board member of Family Legacy Missions International, a mission in Lusaka, Zambia that educates and feeds impoverished and orphaned children. Mr. Pipkin also serves on the board of Morningstar Partners LP, an oil and gas producer primarily in the central basin platform in the Permian basin, Texas. Mr. Pipkin received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering and an M.B.A. degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. We believe Mr. Pipkin is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investment experience in the energy industry. Christopher B. Sarofim.
SEC-registered
investment advisory firm based in Houston, Texas. Mr. Sarofim joined the firm in 1988 and has been a member of its Board since August 2014. Additionally, he serves on the firm’s Executive, Finance and Investment Committees. Mr. Sarofim shares portfolio management responsibilities for numerous separate accounts advised by the firm and is a co-manager
of several mutual funds Fayez Sarofim & Co. sub-advises
for BNY Mellon. Prior to joining Fayez Sarofim & Co., he was employed with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC in corporate finance. In addition to his work at Fayez Sarofim & Co., Mr. Sarofim serves on the boards of Kemper Corp. (NYSE: KMPR), Highland Resources Inc. and Wood Partners. Mr. Sarofim is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Brown Foundation, Inc., St. John’s School, Baylor College of Medicine, and serves on the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors. Mr. Sarofim received an A.B. degree in History from Princeton University in 1986. We believe Mr. Sarofim is qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his extensive investment advisory background, board experience, and financial market and securities analysis expertise. 67
Sable Permian Bankruptcy
On June 25, 2020, Sable Permian Resources, LLC and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Sable”), filed voluntary petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Bankruptcy Court”) and began managing and operating its businesses as pursuant to Sections 1107 and 1108 of the federal bankruptcy laws. On December 1, 2020, Sable filed a proposed plan of reorganization (the “Plan”), which the Bankruptcy Court conditionally approved on December 17, 2020. Pursuant to the Plan, among other actions, Sable Land Company LLC (“Sable Land”), which is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Sable, will reorganize and Sable Land’s lenders will receive an equity interest in Sable Land and replace Sable’s management with a third party operator that will operate Sable Land going forward. On January 29, 2021, the Bankruptcy Court entered an order confirming Sable’s Plan and the Plan went effective on February 1, 2021. As of February 1, 2021, Mr. Flores and Mr. Patrinely were no longer employed by or affiliated with Sable.
debtors-in-possession
Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors
We currently have four directors. Our Board is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Michael E. Dillard, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Gregory P. Pipkin, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of James C. Flores and Christopher B. Sarofim, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.
Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, holders of our founder shares will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of at least 90% of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the shareholders, any vacancies on our Board may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office.
Our officers are appointed by the Board and serve at the discretion of the Board, rather than for specific terms of office. Our Board is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of one or more Chief Executive Officer, a Chief Financial Officer, a Secretary and such other officers (including without limitation, a Chairman of the Board, Chief Operating Officer, Presidents, Vice Presidents, Partners, Managing Directors and Senior Managing Directors) and such other offices as may be determined by the Board
Director Independence
The NYSE listing standards require that a majority of our Board be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board has determined that each of Michael E. Dillard, Gregory P. Pipkin and Christopher B. Sarofim are “independent directors” as defined by the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules.
Officer and Director Compensation
None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates, for services rendered prior to or in connection with the completion of our initial business combination. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Additionally, in connection with the successful completion of our initial business combination,
out-of-pocket
68
we may determine to provide a payment to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or our or their affiliates; however any such payment would not be made from the proceeds of our initial public offering held in the trust account and we currently do not have any agreement or arrangement with any such party to do so. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were or are to be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the Board for determination, either by the compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of independent directors on our Board.
Following a business combination, to the extent we deem it necessary, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management team of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Committees of the Board
Our Board has three standing committees: an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and corporate governance committee. Each committee operates under a charter approved by our Board with the composition and responsibilities described below. The charter of each committee is available on our website at http://flameacq.com.
Audit Committee
We have established an audit committee of the Board. Michael E. Dillard, Gregory P. Pipkin and Christopher B. Sarofim serve as members of our audit committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, our audit committee must have one independent member at the time of listing, a majority of independent members within 90 days of listing and consist of all independent members within one year of listing. Michael E. Dillard, Gregory P. Pipkin and Christopher B. Sarofim each meet the independent director standard under the NYSE’s listing standard and under Rule
10A-3(b)(1)
of the Exchange Act. Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our Board has determined that Christopher B. Sarofim qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules and Mr. Sarofim currently serves as chairman of the audit committee.
We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:
| • | the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent auditors and any other independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us; |
| • | pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent auditors or any other registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures; |
| • | reviewing and discussing with the independent auditors all relationships the auditors have with us in order to evaluate their continued independence; |
| • | setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent auditors; |
69
| • | setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; |
| • | obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent auditors describing (i) the independent auditor’s internal quality-control procedures and (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues; |
| • | reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and |
| • | reviewing with management, the independent auditors, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. |
Compensation Committee
We have established a compensation committee of the Board. Gregory P. Pipkin and Christopher B. Sarofim serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, our compensation committee must have one independent member at the time of listing, a majority of independent members within 90 days of listing, and consist of all independent members within one year of listing. Gregory P. Pipkin and Christopher B. Sarofim each meet the independent director standard under the NYSE listing standard, and Mr. Pipkin serves as chairman of the compensation committee.
We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:
| • | reviewing and approving corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of those goals and objectives, and setting our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation level based on this evaluation; |
| • | reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation of all of our other officers; |
| • | reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans; |
| • | implementing and administering our incentive compensation and equity-based remuneration plans; |
| • | assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements; |
| • | approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees; |
| • | if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and |
| • | reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors. |
Notwithstanding the foregoing, as indicated above, no compensation of any kind, including finder’s, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to complete the consummation of a business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.
The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by the NYSE and the SEC.
70
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
We have established a nominating and corporate governance committee of the Board. Michael E. Dillard and Gregory P. Pipkin serve as members of our nominating and corporate governance committee. Under the NYSE listing standards and applicable SEC rules, our nominating and corporate governance committee must have one independent member at the time of listing, a majority of independent members within 90 days of listing, and consist of all independent members within one year of listing. Michael E. Dillard and Gregory P. Pipkin meet the independent director standard under the NYSE listing standard, and Mr. Dillard serves as chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
The primary purposes of our nominating and corporate governance committee is to assist the Board in:
| • | Identifying, screening and reviewing individuals qualified to serve as directors, consistent with criteria approved by the Board, and recommending to the Board candidates for nomination for appointment at the annual general meeting or to fill vacancies on the Board; |
| • | developing and recommending to the Board and overseeing implementation of our corporate governance guidelines; |
| • | coordinating and overseeing the annual self-evaluation of the Board, its committees, individual directors and management in the governance of the company; and |
| • | reviewing on a regular basis our overall corporate governance and recommending improvements as and when necessary. |
The nominating and corporate governance committee is governed by a charter that complies with the rules of the NYSE. 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.
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.
Director Nominations
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will recommend to the Board candidates for nomination for election at the annual meeting of the stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, the Board will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by holders of our founder shares during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at an annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Prior to our initial business combination, holders of our public shares will not have the right to recommend director candidates for nomination to our Board.
Our nominating and corporate governance committee will recommend to the Board candidates for nomination who have a high level of personal and professional integrity, strong ethics and values and the ability to make mature business judgments. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, our Board considers experience in corporate management such as serving as an officer or former officer of a publicly held company, experience as a board member of another publicly held company, professional and academic experience relevant to our business, leadership skills, experience in finance and accounting or executive compensation practices, whether candidate has the time required for preparation, participation and attendance at Board meetings and committee meetings, if applicable, independence and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.
71
Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation
None of our officers currently serves, and in the past year none of them has served, as a member of the compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our Board.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. The Code of Ethics is available on our website at http://flameacq.com. We will also post any amendments to or waivers of our Code of Ethics on our website.
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Our Board has adopted corporate governance guidelines in accordance with the corporate governance rules of the NYSE that serve as a flexible framework within which our Board and its committees operate. These guidelines cover a number of areas including board membership criteria and director qualifications, director responsibilities, board agenda, roles of the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and presiding director, meetings of independent directors, committee responsibilities and assignments, board member access to management and independent advisors, director communications with third parties, director compensation, director orientation and continuing education, evaluation of senior management and management succession planning. A copy of our corporate governance guidelines is posted on our website at http://flameacq.com.
Item 11. |
Executive Compensation |
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
None of our officers or directors has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. No compensation of any kind, including finder’s and consulting fees, will be paid to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any of their respective affiliates. However, these individuals will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations.
out-of-pocket
Additionally, in connection with the successful completion of our initial business combination, we may determine to provide a payment to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or our or their affiliates; however, any such payment would not be made from the amounts held in the trust account and we currently do not have any agreement or arrangement with any such party to do so. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were or are to be made to our sponsor, officers or directors, or our or their affiliates.
After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the Board for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of independent directors on our Board.
72
Following a business combination, to the extent we deem it necessary, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management team of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.
Item 12. |
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters |
The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership of our common stock as of March 28, 2022 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respect to the beneficial ownership of shares of our common stock, by:
| • | each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock; |
| • | each of our officers and directors that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and |
| • | all our officers and directors as a group. |
In the table below, percentage ownership is based on 28,750,000 shares of our Class A common stock, which includes Class A common stock underlying the units sold in our initial public offering, and 7,187,500 shares of our Class B common stock outstanding as of March 28, 2022. Voting power represents the combined voting power of Class A common stock and Class B common stock owned beneficially by such person. On all matters to be voted upon, the holders of the Class A common stock and the Class B common stock vote together as a single class. Currently, all of the shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a basis. The table below does not include the shares of Class A common stock underlying the private placement warrants held or to be held by our sponsor, directors and officers because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this report.
one-for-one
Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect to all shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.
Class A Common Stock |
Class B Common Stock |
Approximate |
||||||||||||||||||
Name and Address of Beneficial Owner(1) |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Number of Shares Beneficially Owned(2)(3) |
Approximate Percentage of Class |
Percentage of Outstanding Common Stock |
|||||||||||||||
Flame Acquisition Sponsor LLC(4) |
— | — | 4,263,750 | 59.3 | % | 11.9 | % | |||||||||||||
James C. Flores(4) |
— | — | 4,263,750 | 59.3 | % | 11.9 | % | |||||||||||||
Entities affiliated with Saba Capital Management, L.P.(5) |
1,602,328 | 5.6 | % | — | — | 4.5 | % | |||||||||||||
Entities affiliated with Sculptor Capital LP(6) |
1,482,989 | 5.2 | % | — | — | 4.1 | % | |||||||||||||
Gregory D. Patrinely |
— | — | 71,875 | 1.0 | % | * | ||||||||||||||
Michael E. Dillard |
5,000 | * | 96,875 | 1.3 | % | * | ||||||||||||||
Gregory P. Pipkin |
15,000 | * | 96,875 | 1.3 | % | * | ||||||||||||||
Christopher B. Sarofim |
500,000 | 1.7 | % | 96,875 | 1.3 | % | 1.7 | % | ||||||||||||
All officers and directors as a group (five individuals) |
520,000 | 1.8 | % | 4,626,250 | 64.4 | % | 14.3 | % | ||||||||||||
| * | less than 1% |
| 1) | Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is c/o Flame Acquisition Corp., 700 Milam Street, Suite 3300, Houston, Texas 77002. |
| 2) | Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Such shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one |
| 3) | Does not include 71,875 shares held independently. |
73
| 4) | Flame Acquisition Sponsor LLC is the record holder of the shares reported herein. James C. Flores is the managing member of Flame Acquisition Sponsor LLC. As such, Mr. Flores may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the Class B common stock held directly by Flame Acquisition Sponsor LLC. Mr. Flores disclaims beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest he may have therein, directly or indirectly. |
| 5) | Based solely on information contained in a report on Schedule 13G filed on February 14, 2022 by Saba Capital Management, L.P., Saba Capital Management GP, LLC and Mr. Boaz R. Weinstein (together, the “Reporting Persons”). Each of the Reporting Persons may be deemed the beneficial owner of 1,602,328 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock. The principal business address of each of the Reporting Persons is 405 Lexington Avenue, 58th Floor, New York, New York 10174. |
| 6) | Based solely on information contained in a report on Schedule 13G filed on January 28, 2022 by entities affiliated with Sculptor Capital LP. Includes (i) 1,482,989 shares of Class A common stock (“Shares”) beneficially owned by each of Sculptor Capital LP (“Sculptor”), Sculptor Capital II LP (“Sculptor-II”), Sculptor Capital Holding Corp. (“SCHC”), Sculptor Capital Holding II LLC (“SCHC-II”) and Sculptor Capital Management, Inc. (“SCU”), (ii) 754,007 Shares beneficially owned by each of Sculptor Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCMF”) and Sculptor Special Funding, LP (“NRMD”), (iii) 132,448 Shares beneficially owned by Sculptor Credit Opportunities Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCCO”), (iv) 483,044 Shares beneficially owned by Sculptor SC II LP (“NJGC”), and (v) 113,490 Shares beneficially owned by Sculptor Enhanced Master Fund, Ltd. (“SCEN”). Sculptor and Sculptor-II serve as the principal investment managers to the private funds and discretionary accounts managed by Sculptor and thus may be deemed beneficial owners of the Shares in the private funds and discretionary accounts managed by Sculptor and Sculptor-II. SCHC-II serves as the sole general partner of Sculptor-II and is wholly owned by Sculptor. SCHC serves as the sole general partner of Sculptor. As such, SCHC and SCHC-II may be deemed to control Sculptor as well as Sculptor-II and, therefore, may be deemed to be the beneficial owners of the Shares reported herein. SCU is the sole shareholder of SCHC, and may be deemed a beneficial owner of the Shares reported herein. The principal business address of each of Sculptor, Sculptor-II, SCHC, SCHC-II, SCU, SCMF, NRMD, SCEN, SCCO and NJGC is 9 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. |
The table above does not include the shares of common stock underlying the private placement warrants held or to be held by our officers or sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 days of this report.
Changes in Control
None.
Item 13. |
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence |
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions
In November 2020, our founders acquired 7,187,500 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000. Our sponsor purchased 4,671,875 founder shares, FL
Co-Investment
purchased 1,257,813 founder shares and Intrepid Financial Partners purchased 1,257,812 founder shares. Also in November 2020, our sponsor transferred 434,375 founder shares to our independent directors and certain individuals, including Gregory D. Patrinely, our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, at their original purchase price. Simultaneously with such transfer, each of FL Co-Investment
and Intrepid Financial Partners transferred 13,125 founder shares to our sponsor, respectively, at their original purchase price. Prior to the initial investment in the Company of $25,000 by our founders, the Company had no assets, tangible or intangible. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares upon completion of our initial public offering. Additionally, our initial stockholders had agreed to forfeit up to 937,500 founder shares to the extent that the over-allotment option was not exercised in full by the underwriters. On February 26, 2021, the underwriters fully exercised their over-allotment option; thus, these founder shares were no longer subject to forfeiture. 74
In February 2021, our initial stockholders purchased 7,750,000 private placement warrants. Each private placement warrant entitles the holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders are permitted to transfer the private placement warrants held by them to certain permitted transferees, including our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with or related to it., but the transferees receiving such securities will be subject to the same agreements with respect to such securities as the sponsor. Otherwise, these warrants are, subject to certain limited exceptions, transferable or salable until 30 days after the completion of our business combination. So long as the private placement warrants are held by our initial stockholders or their respective permitted transferees, the private placement warrants will not be redeemable by us for cash. The private placement warrants may also be exercised by the initial stockholders or their respective permitted transferees for cash or on a cashless basis. Otherwise, the private placement warrants have terms and provisions that are identical to those of the warrants that are part of the units, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period, and may be redeemed by us for shares of Class A common stock as described herein.
Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or any of their respective affiliates, will be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf, including with respect to our formation and initial public offering and to identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Additionally, in connection with the successful completion of our initial business combination, we may determine to provide a payment to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors, or our or their affiliates; however, any such payment would not be made from the amounts held in the trust account and we currently do not have any arrangement or agreement with our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors, or our or their affiliates, to do so. Our audit committee will review on a quarterly basis all payments that were made or are to be made to our sponsor, officers, directors, or our or their affiliates and will determine which expenses and the amount of expenses that will be reimbursed. There is no cap or ceiling on the reimbursement of expenses incurred by such persons in connection with activities on our behalf.
out-of-pocket
out-of-pocket
In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our initial business combination, we may repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants, at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. As of December 31, 2021, we have drawn down approximately $1,165,000 of such loans.
Pursuant to a registration rights agreement with our initial stockholders, we may be required to register certain securities for sale under the Securities Act. These holders, and holders of warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans, if any, are entitled under the registration rights agreement to make up to three demands that we register certain of our securities held by them for sale under the Securities Act and to have the securities covered thereby registered for resale pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act. In addition, these holders have the right to include their securities in other registration statements filed by us. However, the registration rights agreement provides that we will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until the securities covered thereby are released from their
lock-up
restrictions, as described herein. We will bear the costs and expenses of filing any such registration statements. Item 14 . |
Principal Accountant Fees and Services. |
The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to Marcum LLP (“Marcum”) for services rendered.
Audit Fees
year-end
financial statements and services that are normally provided by Marcum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees of Marcum related to audit and review services in connection with our initial public offering and regulatory filings totaled approximately $99,910 for the year ended December 31, 2021. 75
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.” 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, we did not pay Marcum any audit-related fees. Tax Fees
. We did not pay Marcum for tax return services, planning and tax advice for the year ended December 31, 2021. All Other Fees
. We did not pay Marcum for any other services for the year ended December 31, 2021. Pre-Approval
Policy Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering. As a result, the audit committee did not
pre-approve
all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered prior to the formation of our audit committee were approved by our Board. Since the formation of our audit committee, and on a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve
all auditing services and permitted non-audit
services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit
services described in the Exchange Act which are approved by the audit committee prior to the completion of the audit). PART IV
Item 15. |
Exhibits, Financial Statements and Financial Statement Schedules |
| (a) | The following documents are filed as part of this Report: |
| (1) | Financial Statements |
| (2) | Financial Statements Schedule |
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 in is Item 15 of Part IV below.
| (3) | Exhibits |
We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Exhibits which are incorporated herein by reference can be obtained on the SEC website at .
www.sec.gov
Item 16. |
Form 10-K Summary |
| None. |
76
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
F-2 |
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| Financial Statements: |
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F-3 |
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F-4 |
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F-5 |
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F-6 |
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F-7 |
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F-8 |
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
Flame Acquisition Corp.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Flame Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’ equity (deficit) and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the period from October 16, 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 October 16, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explanatory Paragraph – Going Concern
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As more fully described in Note 1 to the financial statements, the Company’s business plan is dependent on the completion of a business combination and the Company’s cash and working capital as of December 31, 2021 are not sufficient to complete its planned activities. The Company is subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if it does not complete a business combination by March 1, 2023. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our 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/ Marcum
LLP
Marcum
LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2020.
Tampa, FL
April 4, 2022
F-2
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
BALANCE SHEETS
December 31, 2021 |
December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Assets |
||||||||
| Current assets: |
||||||||
| Cash |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Prepaid expenses |
— | |||||||
| Deferred offering costs associated with IPO |
— | |||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total current assets |
||||||||
| Prepaid expenses –Non-Current |
— | |||||||
| Investment held in Trust Account |
— | |||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total assets |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Liabilities and Stockholders’ (Deficit) Equity |
||||||||
| Current liabilities: |
||||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Convertible promissory notes to Related Parties, at fair valu e |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total current liabilities |
||||||||
| Warrant Liabilities |
— | |||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total liabilities |
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| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Commitments |
||||||||
| Class A Common stock subject to possible redemption, |
— | |||||||
| Stockholders’ (deficit) equity: |
||||||||
| Preferred stock, $ |
||||||||
| Class A common stock, $ , at December 31excluding 0 and , 2021 and 2020, respectively |
||||||||
| Class B common stock, $ |
||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital |
— | |||||||
| Accumulated deficit |
( |
) |
( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total stockholders’ (deficit) equity |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total liabilities and stockholders’ (deficit) equity |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-
3
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
From the Period from October 16, 2020 (inception) Through December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Formation and operating costs |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Loss from operations |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Other income (expense): |
||||||||
| Interest income from Trust Account |
||||||||
| Initial fair value adjustment of promissory note |
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|
| Change in fair value of promissory note |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
||||||||
| Offering costs allocated to warrants |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Total other income, net |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net Income |
$ | $ | ( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, redeemable Class A common stock |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, redeemable Class A common stock |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Weighted average shares outstanding, non-redeemable common stock |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and diluted net income per share, non-redeemable common stock |
$ | $ | ( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-
4
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021
Common Stock |
Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A |
Class B |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds received in excess of initial fair value of Private Placement Warrants |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Remeasurement of Class A common stock to possible redemption |
— | — | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Initial fair value adjustment of promissory note |
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
— |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Net income |
— | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2021 |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) | $ |
( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-
5
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
FROM THE PERIOD FROM OCTOBER 16, 2020 (INCEPTION) THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2020
Common Stock |
Additional Paid-In Capital |
Accumulated Deficit |
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class A |
Class B |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shares |
Amount |
Shares |
Amount |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance as of October 16, 2020 (inception) |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sale of Founder Shares |
— | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net loss |
— | — | — | — | — | ( |
) | ( |
) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
| Balance as of December 31, 2020 |
$ |
$ |
$ |
$ |
( |
) |
$ |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-
6
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
For the Period from October 16, 2020 (inception) to December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
||||||||
| Net Income (Loss) |
$ | $ | ( |
) | ||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities: |
||||||||
| Interest earned on Trust Account |
( |
) | ||||||
| Initial fair value adjustment of promissory note |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Change in fair value of promissory note |
|
|
( |
) |
|
|
|
|
| Change in fair value of warrant liabilities |
( |
) | ||||||
| Offering costs allocated to warrants |
||||||||
| Changes in current assets and current liabilities: |
||||||||
| Prepaid expenses |
( |
) | ||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash used in operating activities |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| Cash Flows from Investing Activities: |
||||||||
| Investment of cash into Trust Account |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash used in investing activities |
( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
||||||||
| Proceeds from Initial Public Offering, net of underwriters’ discount |
||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of Private Placement Warrants |
||||||||
| Proceeds from promissory note - related party |
||||||||
| Repayment of promissory note - related party |
( |
) | ||||||
| Payments of offering costs |
( |
) | ( |
) | ||||
| Proceeds from issuance of founder shares |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net cash provided by financing activities |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Net Change in Cash |
||||||||
| Cash — Beginning of period |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Cash — End of period |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Supplemental Disclosure of Non-cash Financing Activities: |
||||||||
| Initial value of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Remeasurement to Initial Redemption Value |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Initial value of warrant liabilities |
$ | $ | ||||||
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
F-
7
FLAME ACQUISITION CORP.
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2021
Note 1 — Organization, and Business Operations
Organization and General
Flame Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) was incorporated in Delaware on October 16, 2020. The Company was formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses (a “Business Combination”). The Company is not limited to a particular industry or geographic region for purposes of consummating a Business Combination. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to all of the risks associated with early stage and emerging growth companies. The Company has selected December 31 as its fiscal year end.
As of December 31, 2021, the Company had not yet commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2021, relates to the Company’s formation and the Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) described below. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completion of its initial business combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate
non-operating
income in the form of interest income on cash and cash equivalents from the proceeds derived from the IPO and non-operating
income or expense from changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities and promissory notes. Financing
The registration statement for the Company’s IPO was declared effective on February 24, 2021 (the “Effective Date”). On March 1, 2021, the Company consummated the IPO of 28,750,000 units (the “Units” and, with respect to the common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”), at $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $287,500,000 , which is discussed in Note
3
. Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, the Company consummated the sale of 7,750,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”), at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, which is discussed in Note
4
. Transaction costs amounted to $6,607,751 consisting of $5,750,000 of underwriting fees and $857,751 of other offering costs. Of the total transaction costs, $280,829 was allocated to expense as
non-operating
expense in the statements of operations with the rest of the offering costs allocated among common stock subject to redemption and stockholders’ deficit. The transaction costs were allocated based on the with and without method, compared to the total offering proceeds, between the fair value of the public warrant liabilities and the Class A common stock.
Trust Account
Following the closing of the IPO on March 1, 2021, an amount of $287,500,000 from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) which is invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act, with a maturity of 185
days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund meeting the conditions of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company. Except with respect to interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account that may be released to the Company to pay its tax obligations, the proceeds from the IPO and the sale of the Private Placement Warrants will not be released from the Trust Account until the earliest of (a) the completion of the Company’s initial business combination, (b) the redemption of any Public Shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (c) the redemption of the Company’s Public Shares if the Company is unable to complete the initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the IPO, subject to applicable law. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could become subject to the claims of the Company’s creditors, if any, which could have priority over the claims of the Company’s public stockholders.
F-
8
Initial Business Combination
The Company’s management has broad discretion with respect to the specific application of the net proceeds of the IPO, although substantially all of the net proceeds are intended to be generally applied toward consummating a business combination.
The Company’s business combination must be with one or more target businesses that together have a fair market value equal to at least 80 % of the balance in the Trust Account (net of taxes payable) at the time of the signing an agreement to enter into a business combination. However, the Company will only complete a 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. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully effect a business
combination.
The Company will provide its public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares upon the completion of the initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The stockholders will be entitled to redeem their shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then on deposit in the Trust Account (initially $10.00 per share, plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay its tax obligations).
The shares of common stock subject to redemption are recorded at a redemption value and classified as temporary equity upon the completion of the IPO, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480
,
“Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” (“ASC 480”).
The
Company will proceed with a business combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $The Company will have 24 months from the closing of the IPO (with the ability to extend with stockholder approval) to consummate a business combination (the “Combination Period”). However, if the Company is unable to complete a business combination within the Combination Period, the Company will redeem 100 % of the outstanding Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the funds held in the Trust Account, 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 the Company for the payment of taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, subject to applicable law, and then seek to dissolve and liquidate.
The Company’s sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to (i) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and Public Shares in connection with the completion of the initial business combination, (ii) waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve an amendment to the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, and (iii) waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to their Founder Shares and Private Placement Warrants if the Company fails to complete the initial business combination within the Combination Period.
The Company’s sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account to below the lesser of (i) $10.00 per Public Share and (ii) the actual amount per Public Share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the Trust Account, if less than $10.00
per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the Trust Account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to
F-
9
any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the IPO against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, the Company has not asked its sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations. The Company has not independently verified whether its sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believes that the Company’s sponsor’s only assets are securities of the Company. Therefore, the Company cannot be certain that its sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations.
Going Concern
As of
December 31, 2021, the Company had cash outside the Trust Account of $
available for working capital needs and a working capital deficit of approximately $400,000 . All remaining cash held in the Trust Account is generally unavailable for the Company’s use, prior to an initial business combination, and is restricted for use either in a Business Combination, to redeem common stock or to use for payment of taxes. As of December 31, 2021,
$16,153
of the amount in the Trust Account was available to be withdrawn as described above. Through December
31, 2021, the Company’s liquidity needs were satisfied through receipt of $25,000 from the sale of the Founder Shares and the remaining net proceeds from the IPO and the sale of Private Placement Warrants, as well as $300,000
that was available under the Initial Promissory Note, $365,000 that is available under the First Working Capital Loan (see Note 800,000 that is available under the Second Working Capital Loan (see Note 365,000 available under the First Working Capital Loan and the $800,000 available under the Second Working Capital Loan were fully drawn down.
5
), and $5
). As of December 31, 2021, the $ In March 2022, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note as a working capital loan to its Sponsor in the principal amount of $335,000 to cover additional expenses related to its search for a Business Combination (see Note 11).
Until consummation of its Business Combination, the Company will be using the funds not held in the Trust Account, and any additional Working Capital Loans (as defined in Note 5) from the initial stockholders, the Company’s officers and directors, or their respective affiliates (which is described in Note 5), for identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the Business Combination.
The Company does not believe it will need to raise additional funds in order to meet the expenditures required for operating its business. However, if the Company’s estimates of the costs of undertaking
in-depth
due diligence and negotiating a business combination is less than the actual amount necessary to do so, the Company may have insufficient funds available to operate its business prior to the business combination. Moreover, the Company will need to raise additional capital through loans from its Sponsor, officers, directors, or third parties. Except as contemplated by the terms of the Initial Promissory Note, First Working Capital Loan (see Note 5), and Second Working Capital Loan (see Note 5), the Company’s Sponsor, officers or directors are not under any obligation to advance funds to, or to invest in, the Company. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital, it may be required to take additional measures to conserve liquidity, which could include, but not necessarily be limited to, curtailing operations, suspending the pursuit of its business plan, and reducing overhead expenses. The Company cannot provide any assurance that new financing will be available to it on commercially acceptable terms, if at all. We are also subject to a mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution requirement if we do not complete our initial business combination by March 1, 2023. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to consummate an initial business combination before March 1, 2023 will be successful. These factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. These financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recovery of the recorded assets or the classification of the liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.Risks and Uncertainties
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus
(the “COVID-19 outbreak”). In
March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak a
pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 outbreak continues
to evolve. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on
the Company’s financial position will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak and related advisories and restrictions. These developments and the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on
the financial markets and the overall economy are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. If the financial markets and/or the overall economy are impacted for an extended period, the Company’s financial position may be materially adversely affected. Additionally, the Company’s ability to complete an initial business combination may be materially adversely affected due to significant governmental measures being implemented to contain the COVID-19 outbreak or
treat its impact, including travel restrictions, the shutdown of businesses and quarantines, among others, which may limit the Company’s ability to have meetings with potential investors or affect the ability of a potential target company’s personnel, vendors and service providers to negotiate and consummate an initial business combination in a timely manner. The Company’s ability to consummate an initial business combination may also be dependent on the ability to raise additional equity and debt financing, which may be impacted by the COVID-19
outbreak and the resulting market downturn. F-
10
Note 2 — Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for annual financial information and in accordance with the instructions to Form
10-K and
Article 8 of Regulation S-X of
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).Emerging Growth Company Status
The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”), as modified by the Jumpstart our Business Startups Act of 2012, (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.
Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply
to non-emerging growth
companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accounting standards used. Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
F-1
1
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company
considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did
t have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2021 or December 31, 2020.
Marketable Securities Held in Trust Account
At December 31, 2021, the Trust Account had $287,516,513 held in marketable securities. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company did not withdraw any interest income from the Trust Account to pay its tax obligations.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution, which, at times, may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000 . At December 31, 2021, the Company has not experienced losses on
this account.
this account.
Common Stock Subject to Possible Redemption
The Company accounts for its Class A common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance with the guidance in ASC Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Class A common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) are classified as a liability instrument and are measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that feature redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) are classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock are classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s Class A common stock feature certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to the occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, as of December 31, 20
21, 28,750,000 shares of Class A common stock subject to possible redemption are presented at redemption value as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity (deficit) section of the Company’s balance sheet.
At December 31, 2021, the Class A ordinary shares reflected in the balance sheet is reconciled in the following table:
| Gross proceeds from Initial Public Offering |
$ |
|||
| Less: |
||||
| Ordinary share issuance costs |
( |
) | ||
| Proceeds allocated to public warrants |
( |
) | ||
| Plus: |
||||
| Fair value adjustment of carrying value to redemption value |
||||
| |
|
|||
| Contingently redeemable ordinary shares |
$ |
|||
| |
|
Net Income Per Share of Common Stock
The Company complies with accounting and disclosure requirements of FASB ASC Topic 260, “Earnings Per Share”. Net income (loss) per ordinary share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding for the period. Subsequent measurement of the redeemable Class A ordinary shares is excluded from income (loss) per ordinary share as the redemption value approximates fair value. Net income per share of common stock is computed by dividing the pro rata net income between the shares of Class A common stock and the shares of Class B common stock by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for each of the periods. The calculation of diluted income per share does not consider the effect of the warrants issued in connection with the IPO, as well as warrants issuable upon the exercise of the conversion option on outstanding working capital loans, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive. The warrants are exercisable for
Below is a reconciliation of the net income per share of common stock:
For the Year Ended December 31, 2021 |
From the Period from October 16, 2020 (inception) Through December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Common stock subject to possible redemption |
||||||||
| Numerator: |
||||||||
| Net income allocable to Class A common stock subject to possible redemption |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Denominator: |
||||||||
| Weighted Average Redeemable Class A common stock, Basic and Diluted |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and Diluted net income per share, Redeemable Class A common stock |
$ | $ | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Non-Redeemable Ordinary shares |
||||||||
| Numerator: |
||||||||
| Net income (loss) allocable to Class B common stock not subject to redemption |
$ | $ | ( |
) | ||||
| Denominator: |
||||||||
| Weighted Average Non-Redeemable common stock, Basic and Diluted |
||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
| Basic and diluted net income (loss) per share |
$ | $ | ( |
) | ||||
| |
|
|
|
|||||
F-1
2
Offering Costs
The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A—“Expenses of Offering”. Offering costs consist principally of professional and registration fees incurred through the balance sheet date that are related to the Public Offering and that were allocated among common stock subject to possible redemption and to stockholders’ deficit upon the completion of the IPO. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2021, offering costs totaling
$340-10-S99-1
have been charged to temporary equity and stockholders’ deficit (consisting of
was allocated to warrants as a
non-operating
expense in the statements of operations with the rest of the offering costs allocated among common stock subject to possible redemption and to stockholders’ deficit. The transaction costs were allocated based on the with and without method, compared to the total offering proceeds, between the fair value of the public warrant liabilities and the Class A common stock. Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the balance sheet.
Derivative Warrant Liabilities
The Company does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow, market, or foreign currency risks. The Company evaluates all of its financial instruments, including issued stock purchase warrants, to determine if such instruments are derivatives or contain features that qualify as embedded derivatives, pursuant to ASC 480 and ASC Topic 815, “Derivatives and Hedging” (“ASC 815”). The classification of derivative instruments, including whether such instruments should be recorded as liabilities or as equity,
is re-assessed at
the end of each reporting period. The Company accounts for its 22,125,000 common stock warrants issued in connection with its Initial Public Offering (14,375,000 ) and Private Placement (7,750,000 ) as derivative warrant liabilities in accordance with ASC
815-40.
Accordingly, the Company recognizes the warrant instruments as liabilities at fair value and adjusts the instruments to fair value at each reporting period. The liabilities are subject to re-measurement
at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized in the Company’s statements of operations. The fair value of warrants issued by the Company in connection with the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement had been estimated using Monte-Carlo simulations at the initial measurement date. However, for each subsequent measurement, beginning on April 19, 2021, the public warrants were measured at the Observable Quoted Price in Active Markets and the private warrants were measured using the Modified Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model.
Convertible Promissory Notes - Related Party
The Company accounts for the convertible promissory notes under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The Company has made the election under 815-15-25 to account for the notes under the fair value option. Using the fair value option, the convertible promissory notes are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet thereafter. Differences between the face value of the note and fair value at issuance are recognized as either an expense in the statement of operations (if issued at a premium) or as a capital contribution (if issued at a discount). Changes in the estimated fair value of the notes are recognized as non-cash gains or losses in the statement of operations.
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes under ASC 740 Income Taxes (“ASC 740”). ASC 740 requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for both the expected impact of differences between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities and for the expected future tax benefit to be derived from tax loss and tax credit carry forwards. ASC 740 additionally requires a valuation allowance to be established when it is more likely than not that all or a portion of deferred tax assets will not be realized.
F-1
3
ASC 740 also clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold and measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must
be more-likely-than-not to
be sustained upon examination by taxing authorities. ASC 740 also provides guidance on derecognition, classification, interest and penalties, accounting in annual period, disclosure and transition. The Company recognizes accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefits and no amounts accrued for interest and penalties as of December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020. The Company is currently not aware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position.
The Company has identified the United States as its only “major” tax jurisdiction.
The Company may be subject to potential examination by federal and state taxing authorities in the areas of income taxes. These potential examinations may include questioning the timing and amount of deductions, the nexus of income among various tax jurisdictions and compliance with federal and state tax laws. The Company’s management does not expect that the total amount of unrecognized tax benefits will materially change over the next twelve months.
Recent Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued
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):
Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”),
which simplifies accounting for convertible instruments by removing major separation models required under current GAAP. The ASU also removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity-linked contracts to qualify for scope exception, and it simplifies the diluted earnings per share calculation in certain areas. ASU 2020-06
is effective January 1, 2024 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company is currently reviewing what impact, if any, adoption will have on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The Company’s management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting standards if currently adopted would have a material effect on the accompanying financial statements.
Note 3 — Initial Public Offering
Pursuant to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 28,750,000 $10.00 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one share of Class A Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share, one share of Class A Common Stock at a price of $11.50 per share.
Units, which includes the full exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase an additional 3,750,000 Units, at a price of
and -half of
one redeemable warrant (“Public Warrant”). Each whole Public Warrant entitles the holder to purchase Note 4 — Private Placement Warrants
Simultaneously with the closing of the IPO, Flame Acquisition Sponsor, LLC a Delaware company (the “Sponsor”), Intrepid Financial Partners, LLC (an affiliate of one of the Company’s underwriters) (“FL 7,750,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant ($7,750,000 in the aggregate), and each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable to purchase one share of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. A portion of the purchase price of the Private Placement Warrants was added to the proceeds from this offering to be held in the Trust Account.
one
of the Company’s underwriters) (“Intrepid”) and FL Co-Investment, LLC
(an affiliate of Co-Investment”)
collectively the (“Initial Stockholders”), purchased an aggregate of Proceeds in excess of the initial fair value of Private Placement Warrants of $1,166,375 is included in the statement of changes in
stockholders’
equity (deficit)
for the year ended December 31, 2021. F-1
4
Note 5 — Related Party Transactions
Founder Shares
In November 2020, our founders acquired 7,187,500 founder shares (the “Founder Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 (the “Class B common stock”), or approximately $0.0035 per share. The Sponsor purchased 4,671,875 Founder Shares, FL Co-Investment purchased 1,257,813
Founder Shares and Intrepid Financial Partners purchased1,257,812 434,375 13,125
Founder Shares and Intrepid Financial Partners purchased
Founder Shares. On November 25, 2020, the Sponsor sold
Founder Shares to some of the Company’s directors and executives, including Gregory D. Patrinely, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, at their original purchase price. Simultaneously with such transfer, each of FL Co-Investment and Intrepid Financial Partners transferred
Founder Shares to our sponsor, respectively, at their original purchase price. Such sale of Founder Shares to the Company’s directors and executives is within the scope of FASB ASC Topic 718, “Compensation-Stock Compensation” (“ASC 718”). Under ASC 718, stock-based compensation associated with equity-classified awards is measured at fair value upon the grant date. The Founder Shares were sold to directors and executives and effectively transferred subject to a performance condition (i.e., the consummation of a Business Combination). Compensation expense related to the Founder Shares is recognized only when the performance condition is probable of achievement under the applicable accounting literature. Stock-based compensation would be recognized at the date a Business Combination is considered probable in an amount equal to the number of Founder Shares times the grant date fair value per share (unless subsequently modified) less the amount initially received for the purchase of the Founder Shares. As of December 31, 2021, the Company has not yet entered into any definitive agreements in connection with any Business Combination. Any such agreements may be subject to certain conditions to closing, such as, for example, approval by the Company’s shareholders. As a result, the Company determined that taking into account that there is a possibility that a Business Combination might not happen, and, therefore, no stock-based compensation expense has been recognized.
The Initial
any 30 -trading day
period commencing at least lock-up
.
Promissory Notes — Related Party
On November 25, 2020, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Initial Stockholders (the “”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $300,000 . The May 25, 2021 or (i) the consummation of the IPO. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had repaid the no additional borrowings under such note are available.
Initial Promissory Note
Initial Promissory Note
is no n-interest bearing
and payable on the earlier of (i) Initial Promissory Note
in full and Working Capital Loans
In order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the initial stockholders or an affiliate of the initial stockholders or certain of the Company’s directors and officers may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company, or convert them to warrants as described below. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans, but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing, the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, at the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible into warrants of the post-Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private
Placement Warrants. As discussed below, during 2021, the Company entered into two convertible promissory notes under this arrangement with the Sponsor to provide Working Capital Loans.
Convertible Promissory Notes
On March 1, 2021, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor (the “First Working Capital Loan”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $365,000 . The First Working Capital Loan is no n-interest bearing and payable on the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination. Our sponsor assigned approximately $145,000 of the First Working Capital Loan to our Chief Financial Officer and Secretary, Gregory Patrinely, approximately $110,000 of the First Working Capital Loan to our Vice President, Anthony Duenner, and approximately $110,000 of the First Working Capital Loan to our Vice President, Caldwell Flores. As of December 31, 2021, the First Working Capital Loan in the amount of $365,000 was fully
drawn. The fair value of the note was estimated by the Company to be $383,323 at initial measurement and $299,555 at December 31, 2021.
On December 27, 2021, the Company issued an unsecured promissory note to the Sponsor (the “Second Working Capital Loan”), pursuant to which the Company may borrow up to an aggregate principal amount of $800,000 . The Second Working Capital Loan 800,000 was fully
is no n-interest bearing
and payable on the consummation of the Company’s Business Combination. As of December 31, 2021, the Second Working Capital Loan in the amount of $drawn. The fair value of the note was estimated by the Company to be $656,560 at initial measurement and at December 31, 2021.
As of December 31, 2021, there were no borrowings under Working Capital Loans other than the $365,000
outstanding under the First Working Capital Loan and $800,000 outstanding under the Second Working Capital Loan as described above.
Note 6 — Commitments & Contingencies
Registration Rights
The holders of the Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of the Working Capital Loans (and any shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans and upon conversion of the Founder Shares) are entitled to registration rights pursuant to a registration rights agreement. The holders of these securities are entitled to make up to three demands, excluding short form demands, that the Company register such securities. In addition, the holders have certain “piggy-back” registration rights with respect to registration statements filed subsequent to the completion of a Business Combination. However, the registration rights agreement provides that the Company will not permit any registration statement filed under the Securities Act to become effective until termination of the applicable lockup period. The Company will bear the expenses incurred in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.
Business Combination Marketing Agreement
The Company has engaged underwriters as advisors in connection with its business combination to assist it in holding meetings with the Company’s stockholders to discuss the potential business combination and the target business’s attributes, introduce it to potential investors that are interested in purchasing its securities in connection with the potential business combination, assist it in obtaining stockholder approval for the business combination and assist the Company with its press releases and public filings in connection with the business combination. The Company will pay the Marketing Fee (as defined in the Company’s registration statement on 3.5 % of the gross proceeds of the IPO, including the proceeds from the exercise of the over-allotment option.
Form S-1,
as amended, that was filed with the SEC on February 5, 2021) for such services upon the consummation of its initial business combination in an amount equal to, in the aggregate, The underwriters will not be entitled to such fee unless the Company consummates its initial business combination.
Underwriters Agreement
On March 1, 2021, the Company paid a fixed underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $5,750,000 in the aggregate.
Note 7 — Stockholders’ Deficit
Preferred Stock
Class
A Common Stock
Class
B Common Stock
and 2020,
there were Common stockholders of record are entitled to one
The Class B common stock are identical to the shares of Class A common stock included in the units being sold in the IPO, and holders of Class B common stock have the same stockholder rights as public stockholders, except that (i) the Class B common stock are subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in more detail below, (ii) our founders, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed
F-1
6
(A) to waive their redemption rights with respect to any Class B common stock and any Public Shares held by them in connection with the completion of our Business Combination and (B) to waive their rights to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Class B common stock held by them if the Company fails to complete our Business Combination within the prescribed time period, although they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to any Public Shares they hold if the Company fails to complete our Business Combination within such time period, (iii) the Class B common stock are shares of our Class B common stock that will automatically convert into shares of our Class A common stock at the time of our initial Business Combination, on subject to adjustment pursuant to certain anti-dilution rights and (iv) are subject to registration rights. If the Company submits our Business Combination to our public stockholders for a vote, our Initial stockholders have agreed to vote any Class B common stock and any Public Shares purchased during or after the IPO in favor of our initial Business Combination.
a one-for-one basis,
With certain limited exceptions, the Class B common stock are not transferable, assignable or salable (except to our officers and directors and other persons or entities affiliated with our Sponsor, each of whom will be subject to the same transfer restrictions) until the earlier of (A) one year after the completion of our initial Business Combination or (B) subsequent to our initial Business Combination, (x) if the last sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within 150 days after our initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on which the Company completes a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange, reorganization or other similar transaction that results in all of our stockholders having the right to exchange their shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.
any 30 -trading day
period commencing at least Note 8 — Warrants
Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination and (b) 12 months from the closing of the IPO. The Public Warrants will expire five years from the completion of a Business Combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
The Company will not be obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a Public Warrant and will have no obligation to settle such Public Warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to the Company satisfying its obligations with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available. No warrant will be exercisable, and the Company will not be obligated to issue a share of Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants.
The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of a Business Combination, it will use its commercially reasonable efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration, under the Securities Act, of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60 th business day after the closing of a Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement and during any period when the Company 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. In addition, if the shares of Class A common stock are at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that they satisfy the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, the Company may, at its option, require holders of the Public Warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event the Company elects to do so, the Company will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but it will use its best 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
F-1
7
exercise
price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied the excess of the “fair market value” less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B)
. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the shares of Class A common stock 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.
Redemption of Warrants For Cash
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $ |
| • | upon not less than |
| • | if, and only if, the last sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $ a period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders. |
If and when the warrants become redeemable by the Company, the Company may exercise its redemption right even if it is unable to register or qualify the underlying securities for sale under all applicable state securities laws. However, the Company will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of Class A common stock is available throughout
the 30-day redemption
period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless exercise is exempt from registration under the Securities Act. Redemption of Warrants For Shares of Class
A Common Stock
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price equal to a number of shares of Class A common stock to be determined by reference to the agreed table set forth in the warrant agreement based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of the Class A common stock; |
| • | upon not less than |
| • | if, and only if, the last sale price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $ |
The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including in the event of a share dividend, extraordinary dividend or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, except as described below, the Public Warrants will not be adjusted for issuances of shares of Class A common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event will the Company be required to net cash settle the Public Warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of Public Warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their Public Warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outside of the Trust Account with respect to such Public Warrants. Accordingly, the Public Warrants may expire worthless.
In addition, if (x) the Company issues additional shares of Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of a Business Combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of Class A common stock (with such issue price or effective issue price to be
F-1
8
determined
in good faith by the Company’s board of directors, and in the case of any such issuance to the Sponsor or its affiliates, without taking into account any Founder Shares held by the Sponsor or such affiliates, as applicable, prior to such issuance) (the “Newly Issued Price”), (y) the aggregate gross proceeds from such issuances represent more than
% of the total equity proceeds, and interest thereon, available for the funding of a Business Combination on the date of the completion of a Business Combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume weighted average trading price of the Company’s shares of Class A common stock during the
trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which the Company completes a Business Combination (such price, the “Market Value”) is below $
per share, the exercise price of the Public Warrants will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to
% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $
and $
per share redemption trigger prices described above adjacent to “Redemption of Warrants For Cash” and “Redemption of Warrants For Shares of Class A Common Stock” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to
100% and
% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, respectively.
The Private Placement Warrants 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions, (y) the Private Placement Warrants
are
identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units sold in the IPO, except that (x) the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants are
not transferable, assignable or salable until are
exercisable on a cashless basis and non-redeemable so
long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees and (z) the Private Placement Warrants and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Private Placement Warrants are
entitled to registration rights. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants. Note 9 — Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for sale of an asset or paid for transfer of a liability, in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). These tiers include:
| • | Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical instruments in active markets; |
| • | Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable such as quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and |
| • | Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions, such as valuations derived from valuation techniques in which one or more significant inputs or significant value drivers are unobservable. |
The following table presents information about the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2021 and 2020, and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation inputs the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
| Description: |
Level |
December 31, 2021 |
Level |
December 31, 2020 |
||||||||||||
| Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Money Market and Treasury Securities Held in Trust Account |
1 |
$ |
$ |
|||||||||||||
| Liabilities: |
||||||||||||||||
| Warrant liability—Public Warrants |
1 |
$ |
||||||||||||||
| Warrant liability—Private Warrants |
3 |
$ |
||||||||||||||
| Promissory Note |
3 |
$ |
— | |||||||||||||
Investment Held in Trust Account
As of December 31, 2021, investments in the Company’s Trust Account consisted of $287,516,153 in U.S. Money Market funds.
There were no transfers between Levels 1, 2 or 3 during the year ended December 31, 2021.
Level 1 instruments include investments in money markets and Treasury securities. The Company uses inputs such as actual trade data, benchmark yields, quoted market prices from dealers or brokers, and other similar sources to determine the fair value of its investments.
F-1
9
Warrant Liability
Public Warrants
were transferred from Level 3 to Level 1 during the year ended December 31, 2021 at a value of $
.
The fair value of warrants issued by the Company in connection with the Public Offering and Private Placement had been estimated using Monte-Carlo simulations at the initial measurement date. However, for each subsequent measurement, the public warrants were measured at the Observable Quoted Price in Active Markets and the private warrants were measured using the Modified Black-Scholes Optional Pricing Model. The estimated fair value of the private warrant liability is determined using Level 3 inputs. 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 common stock 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. The aforementioned warrant liabilities are not subject to qualified hedge accounting.
The following table provides quantitative information regarding Level 3 fair value measurements used to determine the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants and the Public Warrants as of Initial Measurement (March 1, 2021), and the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants as of December 31, 2021.
March 1, 2021 (Initial Measurement) |
December 31, 2021 |
|||||||
| Stock price |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Strike price |
$ | $ | ||||||
| Term (in years) |
||||||||
| Volatility |
% | % | ||||||
| Risk-free rate |
% | % | ||||||
| Dividend yield |
% | % | ||||||
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of warrant liabilities:
Public |
Private Placement |
Warrant Liabilities |
||||||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2020 |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Initial measurement on March 1, 2021 |
||||||||||||
| Change in valuation inputs or other assumptions |
( |
) | ( |
) | ( |
) | ||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2021 |
$ | $ | $ | |||||||||
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Promissory Notes
The convertible promissory notes were valued using a combination of Black-Scholes and Geske models, which is considered to be a Level 3 fair value measurement. The estimated fair value of the Promissory Notes were based on the following significant inputs:
| Inputs |
August 11, 2021 |
December 29 & 31, 2021 |
||||||
| Exercise price |
$ |
|
$ |
|
| |||
| Volatility |
% |
|
|
|
% | |||
| Expected term to warrant expiration |
|
|
|
| ||||
| Risk-free-rate |
% |
|
|
|
% | |||
| Dividend yield |
% |
|
|
|
% | |||
| Stock price |
$ |
|
$ |
|
| |||
The following table presents the changes in the fair value of the Level 3 Promissory Note
s
: | Fair value as of December 31, 2020 |
$ |
|||
| Proceeds received through Convertible Promissory Notes |
||||
| Change in fair value |
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|||
| Fair value as of December 31, 2021 |
$ |
|||
| |
|
There were no transfers in or out of Level 3 from other levels in the fair value hierarchy during
the
year ended December 31, 2021 for the Promissory Note
s
. F-
20
Note 10 — Income Tax
The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:
December 31, 2021 |
December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Deferred tax asset |
|
|
|
| ||||
| Organizational costs/Start-up costs |
$ |
|
|
| ||||
| Federal net operating loss |
|
|
| |||||
| Total deferred tax asset |
|
|
| |||||
| Valuation allowance |
( |
) |
|
|
( |
) | ||
| |
|
|
|
|
| |||
| Deferred tax asset, net of allowance |
$ |
|
|
| ||||
| |
|
|
|
|
| |||
The income tax provision consists of the following:
December 31, 2021 |
December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Federal |
|
|
|
| ||||
| Current |
$ |
|
|
| ||||
| Deferred |
( |
) | |
|
( |
) | ||
| State |
|
|
| |||||
| Current |
|
|
| |||||
| Deferred |
|
|
| |||||
| Change in valuation allowance |
|
|
| |||||
| |
|
|
|
|
| |||
| Income tax provision |
$ |
|
|
| ||||
| |
|
|
|
|
| |||
The Company’s net Federal operating loss carryforward as of December 31, 2021 amounted to $184,985 .
Net operating losses can be carried forward indefinitely.
In assessing the realization of the deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portion of all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. For the year ended December 31, 2021, and the period from October 16, 2020 (inception) through December 31, 2020, the change in the valuation allowance was
$349,999
A reconciliation of the federal income tax rate to the Company’s effective tax rate is as follows:
December 31, 2021 |
December 31, 2020 |
|||||||
| Statutory federal income tax rate |
% |
|
|
% | ||||
| State taxes, net of federal tax benefit |
|
|
| |||||
| Permanent book/tax differences |
|
|
| |||||
| Initial FMV adjustment on promissory note |
|
|
|
% |
|
|
| |
| Change in fair value of promissory note |
|
|
( |
% ) |
|
|
| |
| Change in fair value of warrants |
( |
%) |
|
|
| |||
| Offering cost allocated to warrants |
% |
|
|
| ||||
| Change in valuation allowance |
% |
|
|
( |
)% | |||
| |
|
|
|
|
| |||
| Income tax provision |
|
|
| |||||
| |
|
|
|
|
| |||
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction, which remain open to examination since inception.
Note 11 — Subsequent Events
In March 2022, we issued an unsecured promissory note as a working capital loan to our sponsor in the principal amount of $335,000 to cover additional expenses related to our search for the initial business combination. This loan is non-interest bearing and payable upon the completion of the initial business combination
, and has been fully drawn down.
F-
21
EXHIBIT INDEX
| Exhibit No. |
Description | |
3.1 |
||
3.2 |
Bylaws. (2) | |
4.1 |
||
4.2 |
||
4.3 |
||
4.4 |
||
4.5 |
||
10.1 |
||
10.2 |
||
10.3 |
||
10.4 |
||
10.5 |
||
10.6 |
||
10.7 |
||
10.8 |
||
10.9 |
||
10.10 |
||
10.11 |
||
10.12 |
||
10.13 |
||
10.14 |
||
10.15 |
||
10.16 |
||
10.17 |
||
10.18 |
||
10.19 |
||
10.20 |
||
10.21 |
||
10.22 |
||
10.23 |
||
10.24 |
||
31.1 |
||
31.2 |
||
32.1 |
||
32.2 |
||
101.INS |
Inline XBRL Instance Document – the XBRL Instance Document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document* | |
101.SCH |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema* | |
101.CAL |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase* | |
101.LAB |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase* | |
101.PRE |
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation* | |
101.DEF |
Inline XBRL Definition Linkbase Document* | |
104 |
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101) | |
* |
Filed herewith |
** |
Furnished herewith |
(1) |
Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on March 2, 2021. |
(2) |
Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, as amended, filed with the SEC on February 5, 2021. |
(3) |
Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on March 8, 2021. |
(4) |
Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on December 28, 2021. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| April 4, 2022 | Flame Acquisition Corp. | |||||
| By: | /s/ James C. Flores | |||||
| Name: | James C. Flores | |||||
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer, President and Director | |||||
| (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/ James C. Flores |
Chief Executive Officer, President and Director | April 4, 2022 | ||
| James C. Flores | (Principal Executive Officer) | |||
| /s/ Gregory D. Patrinely |
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary | April 4, 2022 | ||
| Gregory D. Patrinely | (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) | |||
| /s/ Michael E. Dillard |
Director | April 4, 2022 | ||
| Michael E. Dillard | ||||
| /s/ Gregory P. Pipkin |
Director | April 4, 2022 | ||
| Gregory P. Pipkin | ||||
| /s/ Christopher B. Sarofim |
Director | April 4, 2022 | ||
| Christopher B. Sarofim | ||||
Exhibit 4.5
Description of the Company’s Securities Registered
Under Section 12 of the Exchange Act of 1934
The following description of our units, common stock and warrants is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, bylaws and warrant agreement, each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part.
Units
Each unit consists of one share of our Class A common stock and one-half of one warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as described below. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of the shares of the company’s Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at any given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. Accordingly, unless you purchase at least two units, you will not be able to receive or trade a whole warrant.
Holders have the option to continue to hold units or separate their units into the component securities. Holders will need to have their brokers contact our transfer agent in order to separate the units into Class A common stock and warrants.
Additionally, the units will automatically separate into their component parts and will not be traded after completion of our initial business combination.
Common Stock
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our authorized capital stock consists of 200,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value, 20,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, $0.0001 par value, and 1,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock, $0.0001 par value. The following description summarizes the material terms of our capital stock. Because it is only a summary, it may not contain all the information that is important to you.
Stockholders of record are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters to be voted on by stockholders. Prior to our initial business combination, only holders of our founder shares (of which there are 7,187,500 shares issued and outstanding) have the right to vote on the appointment of directors. Holders of our public shares (of which there are 28,750,000 shares issued and outstanding) are not entitled to vote on the appointment of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended only by approval of at least 90% of the shares of our Class B common stock voting in an annual meeting. With respect to any other matter submitted to a vote of our stockholders, including any vote in connection with our initial business combination, except as required by law, holders of our founder shares and holders of our public shares vote together as a single class, with each share of common stock entitling the holder to one vote.
Unless specified in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or as required by applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules, the affirmative vote of a majority of our shares of common stock that are voted is required to approve any such matter voted on by our stockholders. Our board of directors is divided into three classes, each of which serves for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. There is no cumulative voting with respect to the election of directors, with the result that the holders of more than 50% of the shares voted for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Our stockholders are entitled to receive ratable dividends when, as and if declared by the board of directors out of funds legally available therefor.
Because our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 200,000,000 shares of our Class A common stock, if we were to enter into a business combination, we may (depending on the terms of such a business combination) be required to increase the number of shares of our Class A common stock which we will be authorized to issue at the same time as our stockholders vote on the initial business combination to the extent we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination.
Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on the NYSE. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold annual meetings of stockholders for the purpose of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws, unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the completion of an initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL. Prior to the completion of an initial business combination, any vacancy on the board of directors may be filled by a nominee chosen by a majority vote of the remaining directors in office or by a majority of the holders of our founder shares.
We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their public shares upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account calculated as of two business days prior to the completion of our initial business combination, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account is initially anticipated to be $10.00 per public share. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the marketing fee we will pay to the underwriters. The redemption rights will include the requirement that a beneficial owner must identify itself in order to validly redeem its shares. Unlike many blank check companies that hold stockholder votes and conduct proxy solicitations in conjunction with their initial business combinations and provide for related redemptions of public shares for cash upon completion of such initial business combinations even when a vote is not required by law, if a stockholder vote is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation require these tender offer documents to contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under the SEC’s proxy rules. If, however, a stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other reasons, we will, like many blank check companies, offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to the proxy rules and not pursuant to the tender offer rules. If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of our initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting.
If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Our stockholders’ inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce their influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination, and such stockholders could suffer a material loss in their investment if they sell such Excess Shares on the open market. Additionally, such stockholders will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And, as a result, such stockholders will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose such shares would be required to sell their shares in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.
Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, if we have not completed an initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but no more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (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 stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any), subject to applicable law; and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.
In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company after a business combination, our stockholders are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining available for distribution to them after payment of liabilities and after provision is made for each class of shares, if any, having preference over the common stock. Our stockholders have no preemptive or other subscription rights. There are no sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock, except that we will provide our public stockholders 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 taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then outstanding public shares, upon the completion of our initial business combination, subject to the limitations described herein.
Public Warrants
We have issued warrants to purchase 14,375,000 shares of our Class A common stock. Each whole warrant entitles the registered holder to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment as discussed below, at any time commencing 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination, provided in each case that we have an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and a current prospectus relating to them is available (or we permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis under the circumstances specified in the warrant agreement) and such shares are registered, qualified or exempt from registration under the securities, or blue sky, laws of the state of residence of the holder. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, a warrant holder may exercise its warrants only for a whole number of shares of our Class A common stock. This means only a whole warrant may be exercised at a given time by a warrant holder. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants trade. Accordingly, unless a holder purchases at least two units, they are not able to receive or trade a whole warrant. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of our initial business combination, at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.
We are not obligated to deliver any shares of Class A common stock pursuant to the exercise of a warrant and have no obligation to settle such warrant exercise unless a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to the shares of our Class A common stock underlying the warrants is then effective and a prospectus relating thereto is current, subject to our satisfying our obligations described below with respect to registration, or a valid exemption from registration is available, including in connection with a cashless exercise permitted as a result of a notice of redemption. No warrant is exercisable for cash on a cashless basis and we are not obligated to issue a share of our Class A common stock upon exercise of a warrant unless the share of our Class A common stock issuable upon such warrant exercise has been registered, qualified or deemed to be exempt under the securities laws of the state of residence of the registered holder of the warrants. In the event that the conditions in the two immediately preceding sentences are not satisfied with respect to a warrant, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant. In the event that a registration statement is not effective for the exercised warrants, the purchaser of a unit containing such warrant will have paid the full purchase price for the unit solely for the share of our Class A common stock underlying such unit.
We have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than fifteen 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 shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. We will use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration or redemption of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. If a registration statement covering the issuance of the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of the 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. In addition, if our Class A common stock 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 our 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 elect to do so, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, but we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In such event, each holder would pay the exercise price by surrendering each such warrant for that number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of our Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied the excess of the “fair market value” less the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” shall mean the volume weighted average price of the shares of our Class A common stock for the ten trading days ending on the trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent.
Redemption of Warrants for Cash
Once the warrants become exercisable, we may call the warrants for redemption for cash:
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price of $0.01 per warrant; |
| • | upon not less than 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption to each warrant holder; and |
| • | if, and only if, the last reported sale price of the shares of our Class A common stock for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending three business days before we send to the notice of redemption to the warrant holders (which we refer to as the “Reference Value”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities). |
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. However, we will not redeem the warrants unless an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of our Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is effective and a current prospectus relating to those shares of our Class A common stock is available throughout the 30-day redemption period, except if the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis and such cashless basis is exempt from registration under the Securities Act.
We have established the last of the redemption criterion discussed above to prevent a redemption call unless there is at the time of the call a significant premium to the warrant exercise price. If the foregoing conditions are satisfied and we issue a notice of redemption of the warrants, each warrant holder will be entitled to exercise his, her or its warrant prior to the scheduled redemption date. Any such exercise would not be done on a “cashless” basis and would require the exercising warrant holder to pay the exercise price for each warrant being exercised. However, the
price of the shares of our Class A common stock may fall below the $18.00 redemption trigger price (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities) as well as the $11.50 (for whole shares) warrant exercise price after the redemption notice is issued.
Redemption of Warrants for Shares of Class A Common Stock:
Commencing 90 days after the warrants become exercisable, we may redeem the outstanding warrants (including both public warrants and private placement warrants):
| • | in whole and not in part; |
| • | at a price equal to the number of shares of Class A common stock to be determined by reference to the table below, based on the redemption date and the “fair market value” of our Class A common stock (as defined below) except as otherwise described below; |
| • | if, and only if, the Reference Value (as defined above under “Redemption of Warrants When the Price Per Share of Class A Common Stock Equals or Exceeds $18.00”) equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities) on the trading day prior to the date on which we send the notice of redemption to the warrant holders; and |
| • | If, and only if, the Reference Value is less than $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like and certain issuances of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities), the private placement warrants must also be concurrently called for redemption on the same terms (except as described above with respect to a holder’s ability to cashless exercise its warrants) as the outstanding public warrants, as described above. |
The numbers in the table below represent the “redemption prices,” or the number of shares of Class A common stock 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 common stock on the corresponding redemption date, determined for these purposes based on volume weighted average price of our Class A common stock 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 shares of our Class A common stock shall include a security other than shares of our Class A common stock into which the shares of our Class A common stock 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 shares of our Class A common stock to be issued upon exercise of the warrants if we are not the surviving entity following our initial business combination.
The stock prices set forth in the column headings of the table below will be adjusted as of any date on which the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant 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 stock prices in the column headings will equal the stock prices immediately prior to such adjustment, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant immediately prior to such adjustment and the denominator of which is the number of shares deliverable upon exercise of a warrant as so adjusted. The number of shares in the table below shall be adjusted in the same manner and at the same time as the number of shares issuable upon exercise of a warrant. 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 below 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 (period to expiration of warrants) |
Fair Market Value of Our Class A Common Stock | |||||||||||||||||
| $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 | |||||||||
The exact fair market value and redemption date may not be set forth in the table above, in which case, if the fair market value is between two values in the table or the redemption date is between two redemption dates in the table, the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued for each warrant exercised will be determined by a straight-line interpolation between the number of shares set forth for the higher and lower fair market values and the earlier and later redemption dates, as applicable, based on a 365-day year.
If we call the warrants for redemption for cash as described above, our management will have the option to require any holder that wishes to exercise its warrant to do so on a “cashless basis.” In determining whether to require all holders to exercise their warrants on a “cashless basis,” our management will consider, among other factors, our cash position, the number of warrants that are outstanding and the dilutive effect on our stockholders of issuing the maximum number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of our warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, all holders of warrants would pay the exercise price by surrendering their warrants in exchange for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the lesser of (A) the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the excess of the “fair market value” over the exercise price of the warrants by (y) the fair market value and (B) 0.361. The “fair market value” shall mean the average reported last reported sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants. If our management takes advantage of this option, the notice of redemption will contain the information necessary to calculate the number of shares of Class A common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants, including the “fair market value” in such case. Requiring a cashless exercise in this manner will reduce the number of shares to be issued and thereby lessen the dilutive effect of a warrant
redemption. We believe this feature is an attractive option to us if we do not need the cash from the exercise of the warrants after our initial business combination. If we call our warrants for redemption and our management does not take advantage of this option, our initial stockholders and their respective permitted transferees would still be entitled to exercise their private placement warrants for cash or on a cashless basis using the same formula described above that other warrant holders would have been required to use had all warrant holders been required to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis, as described in more detail below.
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 shares of our Class A common stock issued and outstanding immediately after giving effect to such exercise.
Anti-Dilution Adjustments
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is increased by a stock dividend payable in shares of our Class A common stock, or by a split-up of common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such stock dividend, split-up or similar event, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be increased in proportion to such increase in the outstanding shares of common stock. A rights offering to holders of common stock entitling holders to purchase Class A common stock at a price less than the “fair market value” (as defined below) will be deemed a stock dividend of a number of shares of our Class A common stock equal to the product of (i) the number of shares of our Class A common stock actually sold in such rights offering (or issuable under any other equity securities sold in such rights offering that are convertible into or exercisable for Class A common stock) and (ii) one minus the quotient of (x) the price per share of our Class A common stock paid in such rights offering and (y) the fair market value. For these purposes, (i) if the rights offering is for securities convertible into or exercisable for shares of our Class A common stock, in determining the price payable for Class A common stock, there will be taken into account any consideration received for such rights, as well as any additional amount payable upon exercise or conversion and (ii) “fair market value” means the volume-weighted average price of shares of our Class A common stock as reported during the ten trading day period ending on the trading day prior to the first date on which the shares of our Class A common stock trade on the applicable exchange or in the applicable market, regular way, without the right to receive such rights.
In addition, if we, at any time while the warrants are outstanding and unexpired, pay a dividend or make a distribution in cash, securities or other assets to the holders of shares of our Class A common stock on account of such Class A common stock (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 shares of our Class A common stock during the 365-day period ending on the date of declaration of such dividend or distribution does not exceed $0.50 (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and other similar transactions) 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 our Class A common stock in connection with a proposed initial business combination, (d) to satisfy the redemption rights of the holders of our Class A common stock in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of the initial public offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, or (e) in connection with the redemption of our public shares upon our failure to complete our initial business combination, then the warrant exercise price will be decreased, effective immediately after the effective date of such event, by the amount of cash and/or the fair market value of any securities or other assets paid on each share of our Class A common stock in respect of such event.
If the number of outstanding shares of our Class A common stock is decreased by a consolidation, combination, reverse stock split or reclassification of our Class A common stock or other similar event, then, on the effective date of such consolidation, combination, reverse stock split, reclassification or similar event, the number of shares of our Class A common stock issuable on exercise of each warrant will be decreased in proportion to such decrease in outstanding shares of our Class A common stock.
Whenever the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants is adjusted, as described above, the warrant exercise price will be adjusted by multiplying the warrant exercise price immediately prior to such adjustment by a fraction (x) the numerator of which will be the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants immediately prior to such adjustment and (y) the denominator of which will be the number of shares of our Class A common stock so purchasable immediately thereafter.
In addition, if (x) we issue additional shares of our Class A common stock or equity-linked securities for capital raising purposes in connection with the closing of our initial business combination at an issue price or effective issue price of less than $9.20 per share of our Class A common stock (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 initial stockholders 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 completion of our initial business combination (net of redemptions), and (z) the volume-weighted average trading price of our Class A common stock during the 20 trading day period starting on the trading day prior to the day on which we complete 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 $10.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “-Redemption of warrants for shares of Class A common stock” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price, and the $18.00 per share redemption trigger price described above under “-Redemption of warrants for cash” and “-Redemption of warrants for shares of Class A common stock” will be adjusted (to the nearest cent) to be equal to 180% of the higher of the Market Value and the Newly Issued Price.
In case of any reclassification or reorganization of the issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock (other than those described above or that solely affects the par value of such shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any merger or consolidation of us with or into another corporation (other than a consolidation or merger in which we are the continuing corporation and that does not result in any reclassification or reorganization of our issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock), or in the case of any sale or conveyance to another corporation or entity of the assets or other property of us as an entirety or substantially as an entirety in connection with which we are dissolved, the holders of the warrants will thereafter have the right to purchase and receive, upon the basis and upon the terms and conditions specified in the warrants and in lieu of the shares of our Class A common stock immediately theretofore purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented thereby, the kind and amount of shares of stock or other securities or property (including cash) receivable upon such reclassification, reorganization, merger or consolidation, or upon a dissolution following any such sale or transfer, that the holder of the warrants would have received if such holder had exercised their warrants immediately prior to such event.
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 merger or consolidation, 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 merger or consolidation 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 stockholders 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 shares of Class A common stock by the company if a proposed initial business combination is presented to the stockholders of the company for approval) under circumstances in which, upon completion of such tender or exchange offer, the maker thereof, together with members of any group (within the meaning of Rule 13d-5(b)(1) under the Exchange Act) 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 shares of Class A common stock, 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 stockholder if such warrant holder had exercised the warrant prior to the expiration of such tender or exchange offer, accepted such offer and all of the shares of Class A common stock
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.
Additionally, if less than 70% of the consideration receivable by the holders of Class A common stock in such a transaction is payable in the form of common stock in the successor entity that is listed for trading on a national securities exchange or is quoted in an established over-the-counter market, or is to be so listed for trading or quoted immediately following such event, and if the registered holder of the warrant properly exercises the warrant within thirty days following public disclosure of such transaction, the warrant exercise price will be reduced as specified in the warrant agreement based on the Black-Scholes value (as defined in the warrant agreement) of the warrant.
The warrants have been issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that (a) the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder for the purpose of (i) curing any ambiguity, or curing, correcting or supplementing any defective provision or (ii) adding or changing any other provisions with respect to matters or questions arising under the warrant agreement as the parties may deem necessary or desirable and that the parties deem shall not adversely affect the interest of the registered holders of the warrants under the warrant agreement and (b) all other modifications or amendments require the vote or written consent of at least 50% of the then outstanding public warrants; provided that if an amendment adversely affects the private placement warrants in a different manner than the public warrants or vice versa, then the vote or written consent of the registered holders of 65% of the public warrants and 65% of the private placement warrants, voting as separate classes, shall be required. You should review a copy of the warrant agreement, which is filed as an exhibit to Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.5 is a part, for a complete description of the terms and conditions applicable to the warrants.
The warrants may be exercised upon surrender of the warrant certificate on or prior to the expiration date at the offices of the warrant agent, with the exercise form on the reverse side of the warrant certificate completed and executed as indicated, accompanied by full payment of the exercise price (or on a cashless basis, if applicable), by certified or official bank check payable to us, for the number of warrants being exercised. The warrant holders do not have the rights or privileges of holders of common stock and any voting rights until they exercise their warrants and receive Class A common stock. After the issuance of our Class A common stock 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 stockholders.
No fractional shares will be issued upon exercise of the warrants. If, upon exercise of the warrants, a holder would be entitled to receive a fractional interest in a share, we will, upon exercise, round down to the nearest whole number, the number of shares of our Class A common stock to be issued to the warrant holder.
We have agreed that, subject to applicable law, any action, proceeding or claim against us arising out of or relating in any way to the warrant agreement will be brought and enforced in the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and we irrevocably submit to such jurisdiction, which jurisdiction will be the exclusive forum for any such action, proceeding or claim. See “Risk Factors -Our warrant agreement designates the courts of the State of New York or the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by holders of our warrants, which could limit the ability of warrant holders to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with our company.” This provision applies to claims under the Securities Act but does not apply to claims under the Exchange Act or any claim for which the federal district courts of the United States of America are the sole and exclusive forum.
Dividends
We have not paid any cash dividends on our common stock to date and do not intend to pay cash dividends prior to the completion of a business combination. The payment of cash dividends in the future will be dependent upon our revenues and earnings, if any, capital requirements and general financial conditions subsequent to completion of a business combination. The payment of any cash dividends subsequent to a business combination will be within the discretion of our board of directors at such time. If we incur any indebtedness, our ability to declare dividends may be limited by restrictive covenants we may agree to in connection therewith.
Our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation contains provisions designed to provide certain requirements and restrictions that apply to us until the completion of our initial business combination. These provisions (other than amendments relating to provisions governing the election or removal of directors prior to our initial business combination, which require the approval of a majority of at least 90% of the outstanding shares of our common stock voting in a stockholder meeting) cannot be amended without the approval of the holders of 65% of our common stock. Our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock, will participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and will have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. Specifically, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide, among other things, that:
| • | If we are unable to complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of our initial public offering, we will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter subject to lawfully available funds therefor, redeem 100% of the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account (less up to $100,000 of interest released to us to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law; |
| • | Prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination; |
| • | Although we do not intend to enter into a business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or our officers, we are not prohibited from doing so. In the event we enter into such a transaction, we, or a committee of independent directors, will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that such a business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view; |
| • | If a stockholder vote on our initial business combination is not required by law and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other reasons, we will offer to redeem our public shares pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, and will file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about our initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act; |
| • | Our initial business combination must occur with one or more target businesses that together have an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in the trust account (net of amounts disbursed to management for working capital purposes and excluding the deferred underwriting commissions held in the trust account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial business combination; |
| • | If our stockholders approve an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to allow redemption in connection with our initial business combination or redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination within 24 months from the closing of this offering or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, we will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon such approval at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes as well as expenses relating to the administration of the trust account, divided by the number of then issued and outstanding public shares; and |
| • | We will not complete our initial business combination with another blank check company or a similar company with nominal operations. |
In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that under no circumstances will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon completion of our initial business combination.
Certain Anti-Takeover Provisions of Delaware Law and our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws
We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL regulating corporate takeovers. This statute prevents certain Delaware corporations, under certain circumstances, from engaging in a “business combination” with:
| • | a stockholder who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock (otherwise known as an “interested stockholder”); |
| • | an affiliate of an interested stockholder; or |
| • | an associate of an interested stockholder, for three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. |
A “business combination” includes a merger or sale of more than 10% of our assets. However, the above provisions of Section 203 do not apply if:
| • | our board of directors approves the transaction that made the stockholder an “interested stockholder,” prior to the date of the transaction; |
| • | after the completion of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, that stockholder owned at least 85% of our voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, other than statutorily excluded shares of common stock; or |
| • | on or subsequent to the date of the transaction, the initial business combination is approved by our board of directors and authorized at a meeting of our stockholders, and not by written consent, by an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder. |
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that our board of directors will be classified into three classes of directors. As a result, in most circumstances, a person can gain control of our board of directors only by successfully engaging in a proxy contest at two or more annual meetings.
Our authorized but unissued common stock and preferred stock will be available for future issuances without stockholder approval (including a specified future issuance) and could be utilized for a variety of corporate purposes, including future offerings to raise additional capital, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could render more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.
Exclusive forum for certain lawsuits
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (“Court of Chancery”) will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers, employees or stockholders to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or bylaws or as to which the DGCL confers jurisdiction on the Court of Chancery or (iv) any action asserting a claim against us, our directors, officers, or employees that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, provided that the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits (a) brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to any claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction, (b) which the Court of Chancery determines that it does not have personal jurisdiction over an indispensable party, (c) for which exclusive jurisdiction is vested in a court or forum other than the Court of Chancery, or (d) the Court of Chancery does not have subject matter jurisdiction. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, the provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us and our directors, officers or other employees and may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers. Furthermore, stockholders cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and rules and regulations thereunder.
Special meeting of stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by a majority vote of our board of directors, by our Chief Executive Officer or by our Chairman.
Advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations
Our bylaws provide that stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders, must provide timely notice of their intent in writing. To be timely, a stockholder’s notice will need to be received by the company secretary at our principal executive offices not later than the close of business on the 90th day nor earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to the anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act, proposals seeking inclusion in our annual proxy statement must comply with the notice periods contained therein. Our bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholders’ meeting. These provisions may preclude our stockholders from bringing matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or from making nominations for directors at our annual meeting of stockholders.
Action by written consent
Any action required or permitted to be taken by our common stockholders must be effected by a duly called annual or special meeting of such stockholders and may not be effected by written consent of the stockholders other than with respect to our Class B common stock.
Classified board of directors
Our board of directors is divided into three classes, Class I, Class II and Class III, with members of each class serving staggered three-year terms. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that the authorized number of directors may be changed only by resolution of the board of directors. Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, holders of our founder shares will have the right to elect all of our directors prior to consummation of our initial business combination and holders of our public shares will not have the right to vote on the election of directors during such time. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may only be amended if approved by holders of at least 90% of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon. Subject to any other special rights applicable to the stockholders, any vacancies on our Board may be filled by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors present and voting at the meeting of our board or by a majority of the holders of our founder shares.
Class B Common Stock Consent Right
For so long as any shares of our Class B common stock remain outstanding, we may not, without the prior vote or written consent of the holders of a majority of the shares of our Class B common stock then outstanding, voting separately as a single class, amend, alter or repeal any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise, if such amendment, alteration or repeal would alter or change the powers, preferences or relative, participating, optional or other or special rights of the Class B common stock. Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the holders of our Class B common stock may be taken without a meeting, without prior notice and without a vote, if a consent or consents in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be signed by the holders of the outstanding Class B common stock having not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take such action at a meeting at which all shares of our Class B common stock were present and voted.
Listing of Securities
Our units trade on the NYSE under the symbol “FLME.U.” The Class A common stock and public warrants trade on the NYSE under the symbols “FLME” and “FLME.WS,” respectively.
EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATION
I, James C. Flores, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Flame Acquisition Corp.; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) 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(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: April 4, 2022
| /s/ James C. Flores |
| James C. Flores |
| President and Chief Executive Officer |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
EXHIBIT 31.2
CERTIFICATION
I, Gregory D. Patrinely, certify that:
| 1. | I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Flame Acquisition Corp.; |
| 2. | Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report; |
| 3. | Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report; |
| 4. | The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) 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(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions): |
| a) | All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and |
| b) | Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
Date: April 4, 2022
| /s/ Gregory D. Patrinely |
| Gregory D. Patrinely |
| Chief Financial Officer and Secretary |
| (Principal Accounting Officer and Principal Financial Officer) |
EXHIBIT 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Flame Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the period ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, James C. Flores, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to §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; 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. |
Dated: April 4, 2022
| /s/ James C. Flores |
| James C. Flores |
| President and Chief Executive Officer |
| (Principal Executive Officer) |
EXHIBIT 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Flame Acquisition Corp. (the “Company”) for the period ended December 31, 2021, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Gregory D. Patrinely, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to §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; 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. |
Dated: April 4, 2022
| /s/ Gregory D. Patrinely |
| Gregory D. Patrinely |
| Chief Financial Officer and Secretary |
| (Principal Accounting Officer and Principal Financial Officer) |